The Truth Beyond
by V2mew
Summary: A vulpix's life has changed since the day he lost his family. And the world was not fair for everyone. Will he find the truth nature of this revolving world? Please read and review.
1. The Rockets

**Neon POV**

I rested easily by the fireplace since it was cold during nights. It was so nice to curl up nearby the fire and grooming my own orange fur. My red eyes flashed the fire reflection. It was so ease back then.

"Neon, it is time for dinner." My owner called. I am Neon, a vulpix, owned by a small family in a mansion. My name was given by humans and I really did not know where I came from since I was bred by these humans from the day I was born up till now. I stood up on my four feet, leaving my warm comfortable place, and walked slowly towards the dining room. The living room was decorated with expensive things such as large flower pots, paintings, carpets and other stuffs. The door to the dining room was opened for me and I quietly went in. The maid had prepared some berries for me which was placed in a plate on the floor for me to eat. The berries were being crushed into pieces as I chewed them. It was very delightful. The members of the family were chatting with each other. It really was a small family since it included only a father, a mother and a son who was only five years old. A happy expression was worn on the child's face. We lived in the Kanto region near the Celadon City. It was very lucky to have this family since they loved me and took great care of me. The young boy stood up from the chair as he had finished his dinner. The father and mother were still chatting with each other. The boy approached me and patted me.

"Neon is a good boy." He said in a cute way. His hand was soft and warm. I never wanted to let go of this family, this nice family. After patting me for a while, the boy went upstairs to his room. As soon as the boy went into his room and shut the door, the father whispered to mother about something.

"The Rockets are coming tomorrow, Elizabeth. They are coming after the documents." I didn't know what he was talking about but I ignored it and continued eating my delicious berries. The mother looked worried once she heard that. And then she muttered some words that I couldn't hear. I knew she was muttering something from the movement of her lips. But I didn't care, still eating my dinner happily. After some time, when the parents had already left the dining room, I, too, left and walked back to the place where I had been lying down earlier. The father was sitting on a large chair in front of the fireplace. He was looking at some paper. I did not want to know what the paper was about. The father then threw the paper into the fireplace, watching as the fire burned the paper slowly to ashes. I lied on the floor, feeling the comfortable warmth until he picked me up and put me on his laps. He patted my back slowly which made me feel good.

"Neon, my pet, I am starting to feel that this may be the last night you spent with this family." He said gently as his hand slowly patting my back. I was quite shocked by this comment. I looked up at him, wondering what he meant by the last night of mine in this lovely home. But my wondering was interrupted by the good feeling of being patted. At that time, I didn't take that comment seriously and eventually fell asleep.

The next day, I found myself lying on the floor. The fire in the fireplace had died out. I went outside through the puppy door excitedly. The family was already there sitting on the lawn in front of our mansion. I ran around them happily. The boy stood up and ran around liked me, too.

"You run and I will catch." He said. He surely wanted to play and I liked playing with kids. He was a very adorable kid. He caught me and tickled me in my stomach. I snickered happily as the tickling went on. I noticed the sad faces of the parents who were struggling to smile. Even though, they were smiling, I knew they were sad. I stood up after the tickling. I started to think seriously about the Rockets the father was talking about. Who were they and what documents they were after? Why was the mother worried when she heard about the Rockets? I thought and thought but could not find the answer. My thoughts were interrupted by the boy's voice who called me.

"Neon, you are such a good friend." The boy said, hugging me in his arm. I wanted to struggle to be free since it was uncomfortable. But I remained still as I knew how the boy felt about me.

"I always want you to be by my side." He said. I felt the same way, too. He loved me more than anyone ever did. And I loved him as my friend. I always wanted him to be on my side. He was such a good boy. His parents noticed that as well. If possible, I wanted to stay by his side forever.

"Let's go, Timmy." The mother called to her child who let me down and ran towards her. I smiled as it was beautiful to watch.

At night, while was lying by the fireplace, I could somehow sense that something bad was coming soon. I was getting nervous. I could just feel it. The parents were sitting on two chairs each facing in the direction opposite from the fireplace. There was a knock on the door.

"Come in." the father said calmly. Although his face looked calm, the mother's face looked rather worried.

A man, dressing as a scientist, came in. He sat on a chair in front of the parents.

"My dear partner, can you give me the documents? I believed I phoned you yesterday about them." The man said, with a sinister smile.

The father stood up. He killed the fire in the fireplace, taking out some ashes and put it on the floor in front of the man. I noticed that anger appeared on the man's face.

"Mr. Joe, it is better to die than handing the world dangerous Organization, the secret to rule the world and to live, having run around. I have run from you for all these four years but now I see the truth. You will never stop tracking me and I might have to run around again. These bad feelings I don't want to suffer them anymore. I just want to rest in peace." The father said calmly, sitting down again.

"Well then, you will get your wish." Mr. Joe said, mockingly. Five men, wearing black uniforms ran into the room. They were carrying guns and I was startled by that. I stood up and looked at them, frightened.

"Now, we can rest from hunting you down." Mr. Joe said. The men started firing towards my masters as soon as Mr. Joe clicked his fingers. Many holes were made in each of the parents' chests. There was so much blood, red in color. I could do nothing but stared in horror. The parents died, still sitting on the chair with eyes opened. The gunfire was loud. I could not bear the terror of it. My body, including my six tails, could not move.

The maid ran into the living room, screaming.

" Master! Mistress!" she cried as some more black men followed her. They shot her from the back. A bullet went straight through the forehead. Blood gushed out from the hole in the head and the mouth. She kneed down and fell, lying dead on the ground.

The boy ran down the stairs as he screamed for his parents. My eyes narrowed as I saw him.

"Stay away!" I shouted. But the boy didn't seem to understand me since he was a human. He would only hear a usual vulpix scream I guess. So I ran towards him.

"No witness!" Mr. Joe shouted, chuckling in devilish way. Five bullets went through the boy's chest. His eyes were wide opened as he collapsed, fell down the stairs and died. I was too late. My best friend and family were gone in a flash. Tears fell down from my eyes as I approached the dead body of the boy. I wanted to be near him forever but now he had gone first. His eyes were still open with no sign of life. I closed his eyes with my front paw. Drops of tear were falling down from my yellow eyes onto his face.

"WHY?" I shouted in desperation. My scream made Mr. Joe noticed me even though he could not understand.

"Capture that vulpix! It may become useful to us someday." He shouted to the men. What did they mean by capturing me? Did I have to stay with the group who murdered my family? I didn't think so. So I snarled angrily. Tears still falling, I rushed to the front door at top speed, running out through the puppy door. I ran and ran. An intolerable pain was tearing through my heart. I could not bear this pain of losing the only family that I had in my whole life. After running blindly for a few miles, I stopped and took a last look back at the house that was burning up in flames. I felt like a cold hand was gripping my heart. I could not bear it. As I watched my home being burnt to ashes, the world went black.


	2. Unsucessful Comforting

**Lilly's POV**

I got up early as usual. I gave out a loud yawn and looked around. I was lucky that I chose this location. I stretched out my blue body including my fish fin like tail. I stood up just to eat my breakfast. There were many berry bushes around these areas that I could eat many berries so I plucked some. After a while, I have eaten up to my full and I gave out a loud burp. My face turned red as I felt embarrassed. I hope no one was looking. I went down to a stream nearby just to wash myself. I was clean and now ready for the journey to my clearing. So I started walking to where I lived with my mate. On the way, I found an unconscious vulpix, lying on the road. It had tears falling down its eyes but they were almost dried out. What happened to this vulpix? I lost in my thoughts for a bit. I looked down to little creature which I found to be extremely cute. But I had a mate already and didn't get interested in this creature. I had to know its trouble so that I could help him out.

"Wake up, little vulpix." I poked it, waking him but did not do a thing. I started to tickle it which didn't do a thing either. It surely can sleep deeply and I was starting to get annoyed by this. I stood up on my four legs and took a deep breath. I stored up water in my mouth and shot a small amount of water into the vulpix's face. The vulpix, soaked wet in water, slowly opened its eyes.

"Where am I?" Judging from its voice, it was definitely a male. He looked confused.

"Well, you are here right in front of me." I said, in a mischievous way. He looked at me confusedly. I smiled, just to sure him that I am not an enemy or something.

"Who are you?" he asked, as he turned away from me. What I know was that he was sad. It was shown on his face.

"Lilly, a female vaporeon." I said hastily. The vulpix remained still, saying nothing for a while. This made feel awkward. Since he didn't say anything, I got little annoyed. So I sent a weak burst of water to him, drenching his orange fur.

"What the hell was that for?" he snarled at me. I pretended not to be interested.

"Speak politely and I will tell you the answer." I said calmly. He growled at me once more. Then he then calmed down a bit. But he was still giving me an annoyed look. He turned away.

"Fine, I will go my own way." He said, walking away from me.

"Do you know where to go, young vulpix?" I said. He then suddenly stopped. I knew that he would do so. He probably didn't know where to go probably from the look from his face. I grinned as I know he would be coming back. He came and sat near me.

"So where am I?" he said, not looking at my face. I really hate rude person and he was rude to me. How did he expect to get answer from a lady with his altitude?

"More polite if you please." I said calmly even though I was annoyed a little. The vulpix signed and rolled his eyes.

"Please, will you tell me where I am?" he said politely, looking directly into my face as he spoke. He had no more anger in his tune. That's how I liked it, being polite to ladies.

"Well, we are near the Cycling Road and Celadon City." I answered. "So will you give me your name?"

"Neon's the name." He said. This time, he sounded little rude. And he had no smile on his face. He was only polite for a second or two. I signed in disappointment and sent another burst of water at him. He whined as he got soaked.

"Always speak politely and don't be rude! And please don't forget to bear a smile." I said. My annoyance was revealed this time. Neon seemed to get more blasted as he gave me a nasty frown. But I ignored it. Everyone needs to learn how to be polite. And I started walking to my destination, leaving Neon alone in the clearing. He got angry and turned his back on me, still sitting. He was soaking wet because of me. I took a look back and I felt that I just couldn't leave him alone, considering he didn't know where he was and he should go. But then another thought came into my mind that I should leave him since he was very rude. I only liked polite people and my mate was very polite. And I could walk to my destination peace and quiet. I took another look back, since I was concerned about him a little. He seemed to be depressed with his ears, drooped down. I just couldn't stop feeling guilty. So I retraced my steps.

"So you coming?" I shouted to let him hear from the distance. His ears immediately perked up as he heard my voice. He looked at me for once but his frown hadn't disappeared yet, showing he was still angry at me. But he walked towards me, so I waited for him.

"Hey, try cheering up. Don't be Mr. Grumpy all the time. It is not good for you." I said cheerfully as he had arrived near me. But however, his face wouldn't change no matters what I said. Now we would walk together. After all, my clearing was only a few hours away. And my mate was waiting for me there, too. On the way, I wanted to know more about Neon. So I started a conversation.

"So where are you from, Neon?" I asked. I had to keep my smile not to make Neon more depressed.

"Who cares." He said coldly. What made this guy so cold and depressed? I was really curious to know about it. But then I did not want to make him sad.

"Can you please tell me how old you are?" I started the second question.

"Two years old." He said coldly again.

"Then I am three years old. I am a year older than you." I said, snickering nervously. Neon's expression didn't change. There was sadness on his face and his eyes were drooped down as we walked. I had no choice but to lighten up his emotions.

"Well then, you should respect me your elder sister since I am a year older than you." I said, mockingly. I said this on purpose just to lighten his emotions.

"What do you mean by respecting you? We just met and I am not your sibling or something like that." He shouted, angrily. It was just the kind of reaction I expected. I sent a weak burst of water at him.

"Cool down, Neon. I was expecting that you know. You don't have to rude. I told you to polite, didn't I? And you don't have to stay so down. So I thought about lightening you a bit." I said.

"Well then, forgive me for disappointing you!" he snapped at me. I didn't like being rude all but this little vulpix was extremely rude to me even though I was trying to help him. So I sent a stronger bust of water at him this time, which knocked out his balance, causing him to fall.

"Don't ever be rude to someone who is helping you!" I snarled at him angrily. But I was surely surprised by his response. He was not looking at me but looking at something behind me sadly. I could see tears slowly dripping down from his eyes. So I turned around to see what he was looking at, only to find some ashes and rubbles. The building was completely burned down. It was completely fine by the last time I saw it. I turned around just to see more tears falling down from Neon's eyes.

"Why are you crying?" I asked. I sat beside him, patting his back with my paw, comforting him. He turned his face down, trying to hide his tears but probably failed.

"Nothing." He said sadly. I didn't really want to bother him though. Whatever the connection between this rubble and him, I decided not to ask. But I knew that we had to leave quickly as it was bothering him more and more.

"It's better to get going. So come on." I said politely. Neon nodded in agreement, standing up on his feet again. Before we left the area, he took a last look. The building must have been very important to him. Anyway, we left the building. Neon's tears somehow had stopped which made me relieved.

"I know someone who can help you. But you have to promise me something." I said.

"What!" he snarled, angrily.

"There you go again. I want you to promise me that you will be polite." I said.

"Whatever." he replied. I gave him the look which said "be polite". He seemed to understood that.

"Okay, I gave you my promise." He said. Now I got to my point of being polite. But I still didn't know what happened to him in the past. I really wondered what had ever happened to him for him to be in this mode.


	3. The Clearing

Neon's still hadn't changed his expression since the last hour. I was really concerned since both his face and ears were always drooped. And I felt pretty awkward, not having a conversation. I just wanted to cheer him up for good. I thought about it seriously and an idea came through my mind. It would not work out well. But at least, it would stop making me feel awkward.

"Neon, can I ask you something?" I said. Neon gave me an annoyed look. Then he took the look back and began focusing again on where we were going. He just never learned how to be polite. And I was pretty annoyed by that. So I sent another burst of water. Neon whimpered as water hit directly in his body, drenching his fur. He then gave me that annoyed look again as he walked. He might get just used to having his fur wet, since I seemed to drenching him a lot. I just needed to think of another threatening to use if he didn't listen me.

"Ignoring the question and not answering is simply rude." I demanded. "And I do believe that we have little agreement."

"Okay, can you please tell what do you want to ask?" he asked, irritated by my action. I knew that most fire pokemon hated water the most. But I couldn't help it. Even if it was my mate, I would give him a punishment for being rude. That thinking just gave me an idea. This idea just might be a lot better than the first one. So I started my question.

"Well then I will start my question. Do you have a mate?" I asked, hoping for him to perk up.

"Mate?" he asked me, confusingly. I was surprised by that response. It was like that he didn't know about mate. Every pokemon should know about mate in the first place.

"Do you even know about mate?" I asked. But he shook his head horizontally. He looked kind of cute when he was confused.

"Guess I'll have to explain it to you." I signed, and snickered as I thought it was pretty funny that a pokemon didn't know about mates.

"A mate is someone you like. Humans usually call them boyfriend or girlfriend or something like that. Then they eventually get married after a certain amount of time. Then they have kids and family or something like that." I giggled as I speak. Neon looked at me in annoyance and I was getting used to it since he had never smiled from the time we met.

"Well, I have a mate. He is a Leafeon, named Gust. I love him more than anyone." I said, sincerely, as an attempt to get his answer. This sure was a very good topic even though I shouldn't give a stranger about my personal information.

"Do you also have someone you want to spend the rest your life with?" I asked, cheerfully.

"I don't have one." Neon replied hesitantly. "But I have once a friend who I promised to spend forever with him."

Then I noticed a sudden sad expression appeared on his face like if something stabbed into his heart. A lot of tears began to fall from his eyes. I didn't know how to say or comfort him. But I all knew was that he was reminded about something sad eventually because of me. There was no doubt it. I did not know what to do with Neon. But to wash away the tears, I sent a small amount of water at his face. He frowned as water collided and drenched his fur.

"What was that for? I wasn't rude or something." Neon snarled, showing his fangs.

"Well, that was for washing your tears. As a saying, guys don't cry." I said cheerfully and Neon rolled his eyes. I knew that he was disappointed but I ignored it.

"Anyway, don't do it. You've drenched my fur for many times, and I might get sick." He said, lightly. His frown had slightly disappeared. Noticing his expression, I decided to cheer him some more. I jumped to pin on him when he was off guard. He fell for it and I pinned him successfully.

"What're you doing?" he said, struggling to stand up. I then tickled his stomach with my paws. He started to giggle happily so much. I hadn't seen him so smiling and laughing before, so I tickled him more and more.

"Stop it!" he said. There was no anger in his tone and he just can't seem to stop his giggling. "I can't stop laughing. Can you please stop it?"

I finally stopped it and started snickering happily. Neon giggled some more.

"I finally know your weakness now." I mocked. He seemed not to be angry with it. Instead of sending me a frown just like before, he sent me a sweet smile.

"Don't you ever do that again!" He panted but I know that he was happy. Look like my cheering was successful. It made me stressed and uneasy to see him sad.

"Okay, but promise me that you will not be depressed and angry anymore. And also be polite" I said, cheerfully. His ears and face were perked up.

"You have my word." He said as he snickered. Then we continued, going to our destination or should I say my destination. After all, I just picked him up on the road but I wasn't going to dump him here either.

"I thought you were not ticklish. Because when I tried to wake you up, tickling won't do a thing." I said.

"Well, indeed when I am sleeping or unconscious. But when I am aware, it is very effective." He said. He chuckled a little before he went to that serious mode again. I just had to be satisfied with that. I couldn't change everyone's mood easily. And he was not rude to anymore. That was the most important thing if he wanted to come with me.

After another fifteen, my clearing slowly appeared in my vision which meant we were near it. My clearing was located very near Celadon City. Although they were many people in the city, I didn't get bothered by it. There were many berry bushes and a stream which provided water supply. I just couldn't wait to get home.

"Hey, Neon, race you to there!" I said, pointing to my clearing with my paw. Before Neon could say a word, I ran at high speed. Neon, stood still confused. He then realized what I was doing and ran after me. He was pretty fast, catching up with me within a few seconds.

"Guess who's first now." He said as he passed through. I smiled and then speeded up, to pass him.

"I still think I am the first." I said mockingly as I passed through him. After a few seconds, I laughed out loud since I noticed that he was left a few feet behind. While I was laughing, I accidently bumped into something, not noticing what it was. And then, Neon bumped into me, unable to control his speed. I 

groaned as it hurt. I turned to look at what I bumped into. It was Gust, with many leaves emerging from his body. Even his tail was part of a leaf. He fell down from the collision.

"Lilly, you have to careful when running." He said, grunting as he was hurt a bit, placing his paw on his head and rubbing it.

"You are the one who should be watching." I said, trying my best not to be rude. Gust, who sat, noticed Neon who was looking at him confusedly.

"So who's this?" he asked. I gave him a warning look and he flinched.

"I mean, who's this little vulpix?" he corrected as he noticed my look. Only then, I went near him, nuzzling his neck affectionately.

"Come on, let's get going." I said, moving away from the location. I turned and look just to see the vulpix staring at us, confused.

"Come on, you too." I said. Only then the vulpix nodded and came along with us.

"So is it a he or she?" Gust asked me, smiling.

"I am a boy and name's Neon." Neon said, overhearing Gust's question.

"Neon, what a nice name." Gust replied. He then seemed to lose in his thoughts. He then frowned and faced Neon.

"Have you been checking out my mate?" he snarled. I forgot to mention about him to Neon that he was a very overprotective for me. Neon flinched in both fear and surprise. In other way, he had just been rude to Neon, a new comer. And I was embarrassed by this. So I tackled him slightly, which made him lose his balance and fell.

"Why were you rude to Neon? Of course, he is not checking me out and I don't want to flirt with another guy since I already have you!" I shouted angrily.

"Sorry." He whimpered and I signed in disappointment. We kept on going without any disturbance from each of us. Finally we had arrived in a clearing. Neon somehow seemed to be amused by what he saw. He looked around the clearing, looking pretty surprised and pleased. I was really glad that he liked our place.


	4. The Night at the Clearing

**Neon POV**

This place was pretty beautiful. I had to admit that sincerely. There was a stream, many flowers and a lot of berry bushes. I approached a nearby berry bush and plucked some berries with my paw. There were delicious and I could feel them running down the intestine into my stomach like water running in the gutter. After all, travelling made me a bit hungry. As for that weirdo, Gust and Lilly, they, were drinking water from the stream. Lilly seemed to come from high class of family since she was always polite and even told me to be polite. I couldn't help. I just couldn't take the pressure of the last incident. Seeing the rubble encouraged me to become more sadistic. Yesterday, it had been my home but today it was nothing but a piece of rubble. Even though I was sad, I just pretended to be in a constant cheerful mode, not wanting to disappoint Lilly who had been cheerful and nice to me all the time even though she seemed to enjoy, drenching my fur a lot. I could get sick and unwell from it. She didn't seem to notice that.

"So what were you doing out of the clearing anyway?" Lilly asked, curiously.

"You were taking very long so I thought that I would come to check up on you." Gust answered sincerely. Lilly smiled, satisfied by the answer. I could tell from the look of it since she went near him, nuzzling against his neck affectionately. She licked his cheek, and groomed me. As for Gust, he slowly licked the water pokemon's head in reply. Then he petted her neck, making her comfortable. A shiver went through my whole body just by looking at those two. It was disgusting. I unwarily gave them a disgusted look, so I got a warning look from Lilly which made me flinch. I turned around from them, since I couldn't bear to look them, flirting happily with each other which I found disgusting. Then I thought that it disgust me only because I was a little young. In fact, they were older. I continued eating my berries ignoring the two weird lovebirds behind me. Even though I pretended to be cheerful, I still couldn't forgive those guys in black suits and myself. I was not strong enough to protect my own family and my best friend. I wanted to become stronger than ever. Tears started to fall from my face as I thought more and more about it.

"You okay?" A voice said from behind and I jerked out in alarm and surprise as I was not expecting that. It was just Lilly. I signed in relief.

"Just what were you trying to do? Scaring the wits out of me?" I snarled. Lilly was looking at me worriedly. She seemed to notice the tears in my face. Then her worried suddenly changed to a playful look.

"I thought you promised me that you won't be depressed or angry. Or should I tickle you in the stomach again." She asked, grinning widely.

"I will keep the promise so don't do that." I replied hastily. When she tickled me last time, it changed my grumpy mood to a cheerful mood. It was either because of the itching or the reminder of the boy playing with me.

"Okay then, just keep your promise." She said cheerfully before she went to Gust again. I followed her as I wanted to ask them who they wanted me to meet.

"So you said there is a person who can help me. So where is this person?" I asked. "I kept my promise of being polite, didn't I?"

"Yes, you did. She will be here tomorrow. Her name's Oracle, the leader of the Forest Defenders, so show great respect to her." Lilly said. I just can't do anything but wait for her since I didn't know what to do. I could not go after the Rockets to get revenge since I was not strong enough. I could not just settle in because I didn't know the survival manuals since I was born and bred by humans. Oracle could give me an answer or at least, I hoped. I just wondered what Oracle looked like. I just had to stay with them tonight. I hope I would not see that flirty stuff between Gust and Lilly which I was seeing right now.

It was a full moon night, and I sat on the ground, gazing at the moon. It brought me beautiful memories of the past. The boy and I usually used to sit on the lawn just to gaze at the full moon at a night like this. He would pet my back gently as I liked being petted on the back which comforted me. I won't forget these memories since I treasured them like my life. I wondered if there will be days like back then.

"Hey, Neon, what're you doing?" A voice asked from behind and I turn just to see Gust, approaching me while Lilly was preparing our beds. I scowled as my memories were interrupted by him. But then I had to be polite to him so I smiled as I made my scowl disappeared.

"Just watching at the moon." I said, cheerfully, still keeping my smile. Gust sat beside me and gazed into the moon like I do.

"A wonderful sight isn't it?" he said, smiling.

"Yeah, it brings me nice memories." I agreed sincerely. I really had to admit that. The moon, itself, was beautiful. It became more beautiful with the twinkling stars. The sky was like the black screen with many dots attached to it and the large round pale ball glowing in the middle.

"I remember the night when I met Lilly." He said, smiling. He turned away from the moon just to take a look at Lilly who was still busy.

"I will not tell you about the details." He said, taking a look again at the moon

"Why?" I replied, even though I probably know the answer.

"No offenses but you are a stranger here. And I cannot tell you about our private information." He said. That made sense. No one would tell something personal to someone he just met. But I asked him another personal question.

"Why do you like Lilly?" I asked and he blinked at me in surprise.

"It is true that she could become aggressive when it comes to social. She especially doesn't like someone being rude. I've been attacked by her many times since I was being rude to someone. You could see that even this morning." He said. And I nodded in agreement. She really was aggressive when I was rude and drenched my fur with no reason. It made me cold if I had to say. She wasn't really nice at all when it came to social.

"But if you really know her, she's nice. She always want someone to be good in sociality and she's good herself. She has a kind heart, always wanting to help someone and feeling uneasy if she is unable to. Even though she attacks me a lot just for being rude, I am not bothered by that. It is for my own good." He said and I once nodded again. If Lilly hadn't brought me along with her, I would be lost right now. I had to give my thanks to her.

"Speaking of sociality, I haven't apologized you for being rude to you when we first met. Sorry, I was just being protective over Lilly." He said, with a smile.

"I don't mind at all." I said as I returned the smile he gave. He took a look at Lilly who was already asleep.

"Well, I am going to sleep now and I suggest you do the same." Gust said, returning to his bed. He lied down and placed his head on Lilly's back, eventually falling to sleep. I, too, went to the bed which was made for me. It was a few distance away from both of them. I lied down, relaxing all of my tired muscles. It had been a long tiring day, and I really needed a rest. I was looking forward to meet Oracle and imagining her appearance as I closed my eyes. Soon I fell asleep.


	5. Oracle

I woke up, jerked as the water pokemon drenched my face and body. I scowled since my fur got wet again. How many times did I have to tell her that I could catch a cold if she kept doing that?

"Come on, please don't do that." I said, sounding irritated. I tried my best not to be rude because she might drench my fur again.

"That was somehow rude to wake people like that." I muttered and Lilly's face drooped apparently as she heard this. Gust gave me a warning glare which seemed to say, "Apologize to Lilly."

"..unless it is important." I added hastily since I didn't want to pick a fight with Gust. He had no advantages since he was a leaf type but however, the chance of him winning was greater than mine since he looked like a well-experienced fighter while I was just a pet bred by humans. I would not stand a chance against him. Lilly perked up immediately after hearing my word.

"Well, it is very important. Oracle will be here soon." She said cheerfully. I began to get nervous when I heard this. This Oracle, who was she and how did she look like. Gust and Lilly sat together beside each others. I didn't know what to do so I sat beside them. A slim humanoid pokemon appeared in front of us in a blink of light. It looked like a lady, wearing a gown. She had light blue hair which was the same color as the arms, covering one eye. It had two light red horns, sticking out from its chest and its back. Two slender legs could be seen unclearly from the opening of the gown.

"Good morning, Madam Oracle." Lilly said. Both Gust and she bowed their heads toward her while I was staring at her skeptically.

"There is no need to respect, Lilly and Gust." Oracle said, kindly. Her voice was very tender. The two pokemons nodded and stood up while I was still staring at her.

"I sensed that there will be a new recruit for the Forest Defenders. Could it be you, young Vulpix?" she said softly as she gave me a tempting look.

"Neon is my name." I said, shakily and she chuckled at my reaction.

"Nice to meet you, Neon. I am Oracle, a gardevior even though my skin tone is a different from the other ordinary ones. In human tone, I am called a shiny gardevior." She said, in a gentle tone.

"Lilly, I believe that you've done your quest." She said seriously as she turned towards the vaporeon. Lilly nodded and answered.

"Yes, madam. I've talked with the leader of the Cycling Gangs, Aero about being allies." Lilly said, sincerely.

"What did he say?" Oracle asked. She seemed like she have already known the answer though.

"He agreed, madam." Lilly said, bowing her head again.

"I told you that you don't need to show me respect." Oracle replied, smiling.

"Hey, Oracle. Why didn't you give me this job? It was so easy." Gust demanded angrily while Lilly rolled her eyes.

"Relax, Gust. I did not give you the job since you can get pretty angry when it came to Lilly. It just might come. And you are not very good at social as Lilly is. So she can easily accomplish the mission while you 

could have failed due to your anger. And I cannot accept that as an answer." Oracle replied calmly. It really was meaningful. Gust could easily react in a horrible way when it came to Lilly. He could have just attacked me before if Lilly hadn't stopped him.

"Excuse, madam. Neon needed your help." Lilly interrupted and Oracle nodded at her statement.

"Indeed he needed my help. But I cannot tell you about his past since it is personal and he is not willing to tell you either." She said.

"Did you just read my mind?" I asked in surprise and she nodded. This showed that she was a psychic pokemon.

"Yes, indeed that I am a psychic pokemon and that I read your mind." She said and I flinched.

"If I may ask, will you be interested enough to join the Forest Defenders, Neon?" she offered me. I did not know what to do and what would be a big deal if I join the Forest Defenders. So I nodded but I saw her, scowled as I nodded.

"Neon, this is no laughing matter and it is very important. You must be willing to take the job seriously. I will add you on the organization only if you really want to join. If you are finding a part time job just to do right now, go somewhere else." She said, warily. She did know that I was only joining the thing just because I had nowhere else to go and nothing else to do. But now I started considering seriously. Should I really join this organization or not? And what did this organization stand for?

"It is easy. It's as our name. Our organization spreads throughout the four regions and in every forest. We protect every forest. We let humans cut down the trees to limited amount. If more than necessary, we drive them away." Gardevior explained and the two Eons were looking at me seriously. They must be wondering whether I wanted to join or not. Then I gave them my answer.

"Yes, I want to join, Oracle." I said bravely. Gardevoir nodded as she found no hesitation in my comments.

"Very well, but you need little training. I can tell that you have never fought a single pokemon in your life." She said, while the other two was looking at me surprisingly.

"Is that true? You haven't gotten into a fight before?" Gust asked. Lilly shrugged him as a warning.

"That wasn't very polite." She whispered, not knowing that I could hear.

"So what kind of training will you give me?" I asked Oracle seriously.

"You have to train your speed, evasion and combat attacks. The most difficult and important thing is that you must be able to control the fire element within your body." She said and I was confused at the point of being able to control the fire element.

"By being able to control an element, you can use that element's every move and technique." She said. I somehow understood what she meant.

"You mean, like this." I said, spitting a small fireball into the sky. The Gardevior shook her head.

"You still need a long way to go, Neon." She said, sounding disappointed.

"You have to make the fire part of your mind and your body. Controlling each element would cause some mood change but you will be resistance to that after a while. If you have been able to control the fire element for the first time, your mood will be extremely angry. But I am sure that you will be normal after your mind have adjusted to the element control which will occur soon enough if I have to assume. And I will give you a TM as a gift." She said, as an odd item appeared in her hand. It was reflecting some of the light. It suddenly glowed and so was my body. Then it turned back and my body stopped glowing.

"No fair! You gave him a TM but we weren't given anything when we first joined the organization!" Gust protested and Lilly gave him a warning glare again. Only then he remained still.

"Well, you were an experienced fighter from the beginning and so was Lilly. But this vulpix, Neon, has no experience in battling. And I can't let him go off like that, can I?" Oracle replied calmly. She really was reasonable.

"Now, focus and try releasing some waves from your eyes." She said to me. Occasionally, I tried to focus. Everything became yellow in my vision as it became more blur. Apparently headaches started to occur inside my head, and I see everything only a little, very unclear. I tried to run forward but knocked my head into something. I bumped into something again after a while. Then I felt a berry in my mouth and I chewed it. It was hard and had a mixture of various tastes. I continued on chewing it uncomfortably because I thought it would heal my vision. It did, my vision went back to normal and I found out that I was in front of a berry bush with many pink mango shaped berry with green leaves on the top.

"You need to train more. Otherwise, you will not know how to use confused rays and you will only confuse yourself whenever you use it." Gardevoir said, as she signed lightly.

"Well, lucky for you, you chewed a persim berry which healed your confusion." Gust pointed out, signing as well.

"Now I did what I need to do, I will head back to Honnen. I will leave Neon to you two." Oracle said, and she disappeared in a blink of light. Now all I needed to do was training.


	6. Training

I started to train on that day. I tried to focus the fire element in my body and spitted a fire ball into the air. It was still small, and I just wasn't satisfied with that. A small fireball cannot do anything but to roast a poke'block or berry. I signed disappointedly.

"You won't improve if you keep doing that." Lilly said flatly. And I growled, giving her a frown. She yawned as she didn't seem to be bothered by it. Then she stood up and approached me.

"Watch this." She said. She formed a ball of water in her mouth and shot it which I confirmed to be water pulse from the looks, followed by a continuous beam of water from her mouth. Just how did she do the two attacks one after another?

"It is a quite easy and took only about only a few hours to get a hold of it. But it took quite of a lot of time to reach this level. But I believe that you can do it. Just feel the element strongly and don't let take over you." She said, winked at me.

I did as she said. I cleared my mind and started to concentrate. As I concentrated more and more, I started to feel a slight heat burning in my body. Then it got hotter and hotter. My fur was starting to get sweat due to the heat. I had to bear the heat somehow. But this just got hotter and hotter. I could feel my body burning especially my paws. The heat was killing me. And I couldn't stop it. Even though I was a fire pokemon which had Flash Fire ability, I could not take this unbelievable heat since I was still a living thing and had my own body temperature. Even a fire attack won't do any damage but this burned me a lot. Suddenly I felt a gush of water in my face, forcing me backward. I opened just to see the worried vaporeon.

"You were about to get taken over by your own elements." She said, warily. "I saw that your paws were started to get covered in fire and soon your body followed. So I drench you to cool you down and break your concentration so that you won't be feeling hot anymore. You should be resting since you've done quite a pretty good job."

I looked down at paw which got darker because of the fire. I licked them to become clean again. I lied down, just to feel my body, relaxed and cool down. I really was in a hot state. I guess because of my Flash Fire, I wasn't damaged when burned up. It gave immunity to fire attack.

"Why am I needed to control the stuff anyway?" I said flatly. The vaperon lied down next to me while Gust was training his leaf type moves. He was throwing some sharp edged leaves towards a tree, looking pleased at the damage he had done to the tree.

"Why it is necessary to control the element, while I can just pick up techniques and train that moves to become better?" I asked, sounding irrated.

"Well, yeah, most pokemon did just that. But some just want to become better. By taking control of the element, you can use all moves of that kind. But by learning only one or two techniques, you will only be able to use those techniques. Well, Gust couldn't take control of his element, so he only learned a few moves. But Oracle and I had got a hold of our own elements. So we could use any moves of our elements quickly. And I think she saw some potential in you." She explained reasonably and in a polite tone.

"Are you sure about that?" I asked while licking and grooming my fur. And Lilly nodded occasionally.

"Well, then I will get back to training." I said in agreement.

"May be you should rest up for that controlling part and move onto the Confuse Ray. And here's are some persim berries for you." She said, handing me some similar pink berries in a leaf basket which was made of some leaves and branches. She was holding the handle in her mouth. "Just chew them in case you confused yourself." She said in an uncomfortable way because of the basket.

I raised an eyebrow since I was pretty surprised by her paws' work. It must have been really difficult to make a basket with leaves and more difficult if made with paws. But I took the berry basket in a similar way with a word since I understood how she felt with that in her mouth.

"Well, thanks. By the way, nice paw work." I said, similar to her tone before.

"That's not really my work. I found it in a trashcan of Celadon city. Human threw it as a junk but I found it pretty useful. I can use it to store many things and carry stuffs even though a bag would be better." She said. Her face was turning red since I found out that it wasn't really her work.

I rolled my eyes in disappointment. I took back what I thought about her immediately after hearing her confession and I wasn't really about to make a comment about it.

I went some distance from her since I could attack her in confusion. I focused my eyes again. This time I was improved a little. I could eventually send one or two waves but then again my vision went yellow and headaches occurred again. I hurriedly chewed one of the persim berries. My vision went back to normal. I really should try to get used to those berries since I would be eating those a lot.

I tried a bit some more, improving occasionally as I tried. I had to eat those Celebi-damned berries for five or six times. After then, I did not confuse myself. The confused rays seemed to become part of my activities just like walking or eating. I could do it whenever I want but it still gave me a little headaches even my motion remained normal. Now that I was somehow satisfied with my confused rays, I tried to train on speed.

I ran around the clearing as fast as I could. Gust decided to race with me. He always completed a loop before I did. I was somehow frustrated by this. But I hid my frustrating pretty well.


	7. An Awkward Feeling

**Flare's POV**

I was having fun, playing with my little sister, Sera. Our parents, the Ninetales, were watching us proudly. We were a happy family although mum had a sadistic look on her face. I gave her a confused look and she managed to smile briefly and I was relieved just by that. I continued on playing with Sera. I didn't know how my parents got into contact with fire stones but I didn't really care. I really didn't want to evolve since I like being a vulpix. I was suddenly pinned on by Sera while lost in thoughts for a few seconds. I chuckled, congratulating Sera for being able to pin me on the ground.

"Sera, you really are getting good at those stuffs." I congratulated her and she blushed. She let me stand up again. I went my paw down her back, petting her. She liked being petted and I surely loved this girl.

"Thanks, sis." She said, cheerfully. Speaking of nature, she really was active and playful while I was mild and gentle. I really didn't like playing too much since it exhausted me. Dad showed me a sign that he wanted to talk to me in private and Mum nodded as if she was the part of the conservation too.

"Sera, can you go and pluck some berries for us." I asked her and she nodded. She ran in the bush and disappeared. We were not worried since she could take care of herself.

"Flare, we need to talk to you." Mum said and I listened carefully.

"All kids have to set out for their own when they are old enough." Dad said wisely and I really was confused at that comment. So I looked at Dad in a confused way.

"Dad, are you okay?" I asked, being thoughtful for him while Mum shook her head disappointedly.

"Your dad said you must leave this family and set out for yourself." She said and I was startled by this comment. I must leave the family, no way!

"What are you saying? I think you two are stressed. Both of you need a rest." I said. But Dad gave me a serious look.

"It is true. You are old enough now." Dad said. I shrugged uneasily.

"But I am only a year and eight months old. How is that old enough?" I refused, not wanting to leave my parents behind.

"We set out on our own at this age, too." Mum said. "And now don't put Sera to this since she is only 6 months old."

I could not fight back now except to look at my parents with puppy eyes, pleading and begging to let me stay. But they shook their heads.

"We love you as much as we love Sera, Flare. We could keep you here if you want but then you will not learn how to survive when we are gone. And this age is the best time to set out for most vulpixs, including you. You may come back if you have learned how to survive." Dad said. Tears started to drip from my eyes eventually. I felt a stab of depression in my heart. Mum approached me and hugged me lovingly with her two front paws. As for Dad, he ran his paw down my back, stroking my tail my gently.

"Go now, my dear." Mum said, releasing me from her paw. I walked away from her, with my ears and face drooped down. I stopped my tears from dripping from my eyes but the one, remained on face were not dry yet.

Sera came back, holding a big leaf, with many berries on it in her mouth. Sera stared at me, as I passed through her.

"Goodbye, Sera." I said sadly, and she was left behind, staring at me confusingly.

After a few minutes, I found a stream. I washed my face and started drinking water. Then I heard a voice from a far. I sneaked up silently just to see the source of the voice. A vaporeaon was approaching the stream.

"That Neon, I wonder how long he will keep on training?" it muttered in a female voice. It then bathed herself in the stream.

"Nothing is as relaxing as bathing in water." She said as she smirked with her eyes closed. She seemed to be relaxed by the look. Her eyes were still close, so I crawled quietly but knocked a rock into the stream accidently with my paw.

"Could you please kindly show yourself so that I can see you?" she said calmly and in a polite tone. It was not the reaction I expected. But I stepped out of the bushes, revealing myself entirely. Vaporeon still seemed to enjoy the bath she was taking.

"Neon, I thought you were off training. But now I caught you peeking me as I took a bath. You really are a peeking tom." She said sarcastically, still not looking towards me. She must have mistaken me for another vulpix, judging from her look. But how did she know that a vulpix was sneaking up on her? Her sense was really good. She opened her eyes just to look at me which I responded with a confused gaze.

"Excuse me?" I asked in a confused tone, not knowing what she meant and who this Neon was anyway.

"You are a female vulpix. I am sorry. I mistook you as someone I know. I have been meeting with vulpixs lately." She said politely.

"That's okay. By the way, my name is Flare. Nice to meet you." I introduced myself sincerely.

"I am Lilly, a vaporeon." She answered in a polite tone. Was she always like this? She was very amazingly polite with all the words she said. Even I couldn't be that polite when I was startled.

"Who is Neon?" I asked, curiously. She smiled and answered.

"Neon is a vulpix just like you. His personality and speech are quite different from yours. But believe, he truly is kind-hearted inside." She answered and I was excited by this. Maybe he could help me with survival stuffs, and then I could go back to my family soon. Lilly might be more experienced but it was better to ask the same species.

"Can you take me to him?" I asked pleadingly. She nodded and gave me a sign to follow her. So I did. She led to a meadow where a vulpix was racing with Leafeon. It was a little close. They suddenly stopped in front of a big tree.

"I made it to four laps." The Leafeon shouted proudly while the vulpix was panting in exhaustion. Leafeon seemed to fine.

"Well, I could only make it to three laps." The vulpix said tiredly. I bet that was Neon.

"I need to rest now." Neon said warily as he lied down.

"Go take a bath which it will make you feel better. And I don't want a smelly vulpix in my clearing." Lilly said but Neon seemed to be ignoring her. A frown appeared on Lilly's face and then Lilly sent a burst of water at the lying vulpix which made me flinched. I thought that she was gentle since she was always polite.

"What was that for?" Neon growled.

"That's for not responding my question. You should at least pay attention what other people say and give a positive or negative answer. But it is rude to ignore the question. For that, you must take a bath immediately and comment." Lilly scolded Neon. A shiver went through me every time she raised her voice. Neon signed and rolled his eyes. He headed towards the stream. I followed him to get answers for the questions I needed to know. He damped himself

"Excuse me, sir." I asked politely but got an annoyed glare in return.

"What do you want?" he replied and I frowned. I was trying to be nice and his sound surely annoyed me.

"Well, I want to know whether you have survival experiences or not." I asked sincerely, looking directly at him.

"I don't know anything about those stuffs. Sorry." He answered, in a bored tone. He seemed to be stressed and tired which made him wanted to stay alone. But I thought I would better join him so I got into the water beside him.

"I mean I know that you need to find your own foods, water and many things that are required. But then I don't believe that I know the real surviving method since my parents want to learn about it. So what do you think?" I started a conversation. I was hoping this would go well.

"Well, my thought is not different from yours. But I have fewer experiences than anyone else." He said. I put my paw on his back just to assure that he was relaxed.

"What about we learn that method together?" I suggested, hoping to get a smile back. But he never smiled.

"You and I have only just met. So I think I can't you the answer yet. But I will think about it. I hope that I can put my trust in you." He said, still relaxing himself. I could understand what he meant. This was the first time I talked to a stranger about this. We weren't friends and we started talking just now. I only did this because I wanted to comfort him. His face was somewhat cute. Wait! What am I thinking about? I shook my head just to knock out my strange thought."

"In fact, you haven't introduced yourself to me." He said, looking at me. I totally forgot about that.

"My name's Flare. Yours is Neon I believe." I answered politely and he nodded. His eyes were locked on my face. My face turned red and I somehow became excited and nervous at the same time. I looked away from him and removed my paw immediately from his back. Why was I feeling these things? And why did I find his face cute? And I took a quick glance at his face. He had closed his eyes and relaxing. He was really cute. Wait a sec. Come on, how could I think a stranger cute? We just have barely met. Why were these thoughts coming inside my head?

"Then I will go and have a little chat with your vaporeon friend." I said, chuckling nervously. He took a look at me and I blushed. I quickly stood up, turned around and walked away. I just had no idea what to do.


	8. A Lovely Confusion

I could see the vaporeon, watching the sun. She was at the spot where it was clear and could see the sun perfectly. She was watching the sun set of the evening. I joined her by sitting next to her. It was beautiful. Not a bush or tree was disturbing the sight. It was wonderful. Now I was then considering the feelings before. I really must ask why I was feeling these things. Lilly could give me better answers than the Leafeon could since she was a female like me.

"Lilly, I want to ask you something." I started, and Lilly turned towards me, giving me the sign that she was listening to me.

"Well, I want to know why I was feeling…." I paused for a moment. I did not know how to express these feelings clearly.

"You know, when I was talking to Neon, I suddenly found him cute and then nervousness and excitement were formed inside me." I said nervously and got an evil grin from Lilly in return. A shiver went through my body as she grinned. But I continued on telling her about the event.

"And we only met each other. But why do these feeling occur inside me?" I said, with enthusiasm, really wanting to know the reason. I looked at her with full hope and she noticed that.

"Young lady, I know what your problem is." She answered politely as she closed her eyes. "Two souls crossed different dimensions and space but now they finally found one another."

I blinked my eyes confusingly. I didn't understand poems, rhythms or some words like that.

"Just give me the direct answer!" I snapped angrily but got a burst of water in return.

"As a young lady, you should not be rude to the others." She said in an irritated tone and I blinked my eyes in surprise. The water pokemon started speaking again.

"I will just give you the answer. Do you believe love in first sight?" she said, with a grin. Well, that wasn't an answer at all. In fact, that was a question. But I slightly understood the meaning by that question.

"Your point is…." I had already known what the answer would be. It was just that I wanted to assure that my prediction was correct.

"You like him, don't you?" she replied, I felt that I wanted to vomit at that time. Yuck! Why should I like that guy!? My face turned red slightly as I scowled in embarrassment.

"Isn't it obvious? It is written all over your face." She said politely with an evil grin. Shivers went through my body as I thought more about it. I gave her a threatening growl not to mess with my feelings and she signed.

"Is this a vulpix season or is it just a coincidence? I've met Neon and invited him to my place yesterday. He really was moody and grumpy back then. Now I am talking with Flare who I have just met today. Now she is asking me about love." She continued and I frowned angrily. I was just asking her about my feelings, not love! She opened her mouth just to say more words but I hastily stopped her by interrupting her.

"Not a word. I know what you are going to say." I said. And she was blinking at me in surprise.

"So you think that I am interested in him." I said in sarcasm and she nodded. She seemed to be calmed.

"And I will eventually fall in love in him and he will become my mate." I continued sarcastically and she nodded again.

"Well, then you are wrong!" I snarled angrily and got a burst of water in my face in return.

"Your rudeness level is getting higher and higher. Try to be polite." The vaporeon answered politely and I growled, showing my fangs. Did she always like being polite?

"Come on, let's go. The moon is already rising." She said as she headed back into the clearing.

"Well, in fact, you were sitting at the spot where Neon sat yesterday." She said, chuckling and I signed and rolled my eyes in disappointment.

She started to make beds with leaves and I watched her. I have slept on beds but I never actually made one before. This must be one of the survival skills that Dad was talking about.

"Why do you make beds? We can sleep on the ground, can't we?" I asked curiously.

"Well, we can but there may be small spikes on the ground and we might be hurt by them." She said reasonably. I was starting to know what Dad meant. There were many things that I still didn't know about surviving and I had to learn all of them.

"Well, are you sleeping here? There is nowhere else for you to go." She said, looking at me cautiously and I nodded. I could not travel alone in night and find a place to settle in. After making two beds, she made another one at some distance.

"I could see that you and the leafeon are sleeping together and Neon is sleeping on the other. But where's mine?" I demanded.

"Don't call him "the leafeon". He had his own name too and it's Gust. By the way, you and Neon are sharing a bed." She said, winked at me. She did this on purpose! I had the urge to tear her apart but I managed to control it. After all, I was a guest here and they were landlords. I had to do as they suggested. After a while, I sat on my… I mean, Neon and my bed. I licked my paws and my fur, grooming them. Mum used to tell me to groom my fur always before I went to sleep. I suddenly thought about Lilly's words. What did she mean that I like him? I got annoyed by that.

"Like I would fall for him." I muttered to myself. Someone poked me from behind and I jumped as I was startled. I turned around just to see Neon, looking at me. My face turned distinctly red.

"Sorry if I scared you." He said. He chuckled slightly and I gave him a frown.

"I thought you came just to visit but now I could see you sitting on my bed." He said.

"It's our bed. I cannot wander off alone at night. So Lilly told me to share this bed with you." I replied, in an angry tone.

"That damned Vaporeon!" he cursed, as he looked angrily at Lilly who was already asleep beside Leafeon. In Lilly was awake, he would be soaked for sure.

"So are you sleeping here or not?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Of course, I am sleeping here!" he demanded. My face turned red and it was intimidating.

"By the way, do you often blush when you meet a male of your kind?" he said.

"Of course not!" I argued, blushing even more. I covered my face with one of my paw not to let him see my face. I also notice that he was also blushing but his face was only slightly red which wasn't intimidating at all.

"And it is you who is blushing." I added, pointing out. His face became more reddish.

"I am not." he said, turning away from me.

"Anyhow, we have to manage to fit both of us in." I continued, sounding concerned.

After a short moment, it worked out. He lied down first, then I lied down at right angle to him, resting my head on his back. The bed really was able to keep us both with no difficulties now. He placed his head on head on my neck. What a nice feelin….. what was I thinking about? And why the hell was he placing his head on my neck?

"I just want to remind you that this is only for fitting on one bed." He said in a warning tone.

"But what does this had to do with placing your head on my neck?" I asked seriously, blushing slightly.

"I am tired from training. My body is aching and your neck is a good and more comfortable place for my head to rest since you are furry and nice. The ground is very hard." He said, in a sleepy tone.

"Hey, that's not the…."I was about to refuse but stopped as I heard him, snoring slightly. I was starting feel nervous about this. I could just shake his head off if I wanted to do. But I could tell that he seemed to be stressed and exhausted by the sound of his peaceful snores.

"Never mind." I muttered indifferently with a slight red face. I couldn't sleep at that time since I was feeling something abnormal. My heart was somehow beating too fast enough for me. I only thought of the advantages to cheer myself. It was nice to have a friend. It kept me warm by sleeping together and it somehow was pretty nice and lovin…. What the hell was I thinking about!? That's nonsense. I calmed down myself and fell asleep eventually.


	9. The Vulpixs' Love

I woke up eventually since it was morning already. I found that my tails and hind limbs were outside of the bed. I could tell it by feeling my hind limbs and tail. The position was not perfect after all. I could move my head since Neon was still asleep with his head on my neck. I could shake him off if I wanted to but that would wake him in a bad mood. I just wanted to make him feel relaxed and comfortable. After all, it was pretty nice to rest my head on his back. His body was warm and comfortable, too. I closed my eyes just to relax. I somehow was happy just to be near him. It would be a lot nicer if he was my ma….. What was I thinking about!? He couldn't be my mate and he would never be! Why was he influencing my feelings? He didn't do anything to me but I had strange feelings whenever I was beside him or see him even now. I only knew him for a day but had these feelings already. He somehow seemed to be a very close person to me. I wanted to know his feelings towards me. I signed in disappointment. He probably wouldn't feel a thing.

"He must be thinking that I am crazy enough to blush many times." I muttered to myself as I scowled.

"No, he is not thinking that way." Lilly's voice said. I looked up and saw Lilly and Gust standing right in front of me. I didn't notice that they were awake! I couldn't move my head very much as I didn't want to wake Neon. I didn't want to put an end to this nice feeling.

"What are you, guys doing here?" I whispered in a demanding tone.

"What a lovely sight. Two vulpixs, cuddling with each other." Gust said, in a romantic tone on purpose. Lilly gave him a warning look.

"Don't interrupt others' love. It is very rude." She said, politely and showed a sign that they should leave us alone in private. They left and I wasn't able to stop them. I couldn't stand this at all. This annoyed me. They were acting like we were mates or something. But on the other hand, it was nice to leave us alone and I was starting to take a liking of him. Wait a sec! What was I thinking about? I mean we only met yesterday and he was my friend. And we will become more than just friends, and eventually mates. This couldn't be happening! These odd and weird thoughts are coming inside my mind. I should be snapping out from this right now. I forced myself to close my eyes and to calm myself down.

"Hey, how's the night?" I heard Neon's voice near me. I rolled my pupils backwards in my corneas to see Neon, yawning. He slowly removed his head and I did the same to let Neon up.

"My neck aches a little." He said sleepily. It should be aching slightly since he had twisted his neck a little to rest his head on my neck for a long time. But I smiled warmly and then petted his neck with my paw in an attempt to make him feel better. He smiled back and I was completely lost in that smile. That smile matched his cute face. I shook my head quickly to clear these thoughts of my head. What was happening to me? I was clearly lost in his smile and I thought that he was cute again. I should quickly leave this place if I want to remain sane.

I removed my paw and smiled slightly. I slowly stepped backwards and Neon was looking at me in confusion.

"Where are you going?" he asked me.

"Well, I am a guest here. I shouldn't be staying too long." I said uneasily, taking another step backwards and a sad expression suddenly appeared on his face.

"Do you have to leave that early?" He said, with his ears slightly drooped. I realized that mine were the same when I nodded at that time. I can't stop feeling guilty at that time and somehow sad.

"Well, I guess this is good-bye then." He said, smiling uneasily.

"Yeah." I said hastily and turned around, walking off the clearing. Sadness was very clear on my face. I tried to remove it but I couldn't. I've only known him just for a day and now what was this inside of me? After a few distance, I felt completely awkward. I felt like something was missing. I felt very uneasy. Then I heard Lilly's voice in my mind.

"Do you believe love in first sight?" I heard that question in my head. I tried to shake it off. Then I heard many words that Lilly had said to me the latter day. "You like him, don't you?"

"No, I don't!" I shouted. I was starting to get headaches. Then I started to hear my sarcastic voice in my head.

"And I will eventually fall in love with him and he will become my mate." The words I was not serious at that time became very serious to me now. I shook my head off several times but heard the words over and over.

"Stop it!" I screamed in agony. Luckily, there was no one around. If there was someone around, that person would definitely think I was insane. I couldn't resist this. What was wrong with me? I definitely must get an answer or otherwise I might lose my sanity for sure. So I retraced my steps.

After a while, I arrived at the clearing. I hid myself in the bushes as I saw Neon, standing there. He was trying to concentrate but failed many times. He groaned and tried again. His body became red and his fur was occasionally covered in sweat. He panted tiredly as he was worn out. He finally collapsed, still panting. I suddenly became worried about him. I wanted to go there and help him but decided not to.

"Why? What's wrong with me? I was very close to succeeding yesterday and improving. But now, I cannot concentrate enough. Why do I see her in my thoughts many times?" he muttered, loud enough for me to hear. I think the one he was referring to was 'me'. I didn't know why but became happy slightly and satisfied somehow.

"What's wrong, Neon? Giving up already?" Gust said, approaching the collapsed vulpix and lied down beside him.

"I don't know. But she appeared in my mind whenever I tried to control my element." Neon groaned with his eyes closed.

"She?" the leafeon asked inquisitively. Neon narrowed his eyes.

"To tell you the truth, I didn't know what's wrong with me. I met Flare just yesterday. She sat beside when I was bathing. This had started when I first looked at her after she put her paw on my back. I suddenly found her face to be beautiful but I ignored that feeling." he said. Gust seemed to know the answer but he remained silent. I always hadn't thought myself beautiful but he thought that I was. My face turned slightly red.

"And when I slept together with her, I felt nice to have her head over my body. I felt warm and happy somehow. But when I woke up and she said good-bye to me, I suddenly felt that I have lost something precious. The last two days, I was quite unhappy and sad because I really lost something very valuable. But yesterday, she came and I was happy when I bathed near her even though I didn't show it. But now I have the same feeling as I had two days ago. I really don't know why." He continued seriously and I now knew that he felt the same as me. He shared the same feeling. Were Lilly's words true? Did I truly like 

him? How stupid of me. I could not just like someone who I've just known recently. Or could I? I was still puzzled at myself.

"Well, do you know how she feels for you?" Gust asked seriously and Neon shook his head.

"She did blush many times when she saw me. And she petted my neck gently this morning." He replied.

"She might be feeling the same way. But from what I know, you are interested in her. Just accept the truth. And you can't escape from love and you can't resist it. Judging from her actions, she might already be flirting with you." Gust said, mockingly. My face turned extremely red. Me, flirting with Neon! That was just impossible. I had my own dignity and I would take care of it. I was blinded by anger and jumped into the clearing.

"What do you mean by flirting!?" I yelled angrily while Gust busted out laughing. My eyes widened as I knew what I had done. I turned away as I didn't want to admit my stupidity. I totally fell for it. He knew that I was here all along and yet he pretended that he did not. Then he mocked me to lure me out. But Neon suddenly perked up and stood up.

"You still haven't gone yet." He said as sudden happiness appeared on his face.

"Well, I came back just to make sure you are alright." I said shyly and Neon smiled at me. And I was lost in that smile again. I quickly snapped myself out of it. Why did it happen again?

"Should I go now?" I asked nervously.

"No, you might find the Survival Methods that you are looking for. Gust and Lilly can teach you." He said hastily as if he didn't want me to go away. Gust was smiling at us.

"Well, I guess I should stick around for a while." I said, blushing slightly. Gust seemed to be satisfied by our reactions towards each other. There was a pause and I was getting more nervous.

"Can I watch you train?" I said quickly. Neon then nodded. He seemed to be pretty confident now. Gust left us without Neon's noticing. As for Neon, he closed his eyes again and tried to focus. His body became red again and sweat appeared again. He cooled down and shook his head which showed that he failed.

"Why it isn't working?" he muttered and I sat beside him.

"What is element controlling?"I asked curiously.

"It is something that Oracle wanted me to do." He said. Who was Oracle?

"She wanted me to take control of my element. Lilly told me to just feel the element strongly but it is still not working out." He said disappointedly. I was still not convinced. What good would that do? I really wondered but by taking control of element, mean making the element part of one's body. Which meant Neon was just feeling it but hadn't yet tried to absorb the heat and became one with fire. That was it! He still hadn't tried it yet. I ran my paw down Neon's back as I slowly explained.

After a while, he succeeded. His body turned red like before but the sweat suddenly disappeared and he managed to open his eyes while concentrating. He spat a large fireball into the air. That was impressive. Even I couldn't do that good.

"Congratulation, you did it." I shouted happily. I hugged Neon involuntarily, with my eyes closed, not realizing what I was doing. All I knew was that I felt happy for him. Lilly didn't tell about the true method either because she forgot or she wanted him to figure it out by herself. I didn't care. It was very happy and nice to hug him.

"Flare?" he said and I suddenly felt awkward. I realized what I was doing and let go of him immediately. My face was distinctly red again. He chuckled slightly, placing his paw on my back. I blushed even more. I took a look at him just to see his eyes, locked on my face. I turned away in embarrassment. Why were these things happening?

"Well, it is just a friendly hug, okay?" I said nervously and he nodded. I could see his face, slightly red.

"Maybe best friends." He said and I smiled in agreement.


	10. Neon's First Mission

**Neon's POV**

If I had to admit it, I felt pretty warm and happy when I was hugged by Flare. I was kind of interested in her. I wanted her to be near me all the time. But I was still not sure if I truly wanted that. However, I was very glad that she came back and that I finally managed to get a hold of that controlling my element stuff. I gave her a warm smile. My eyes were locked on her and not wanting to look away. She was doing the same. But we were interrupted by a gentle voice.

"Neon, I haven't seen you for a day and you have already got a mate for yourself." I turned around just to see Oracle giggling.

"We are definitely not mates!" Both of us shouted, having with red faces. We looked at each other, both of us blushing.

"Well, Neon, I have a mission for you." Oracle said seriously and I nodded.

"This is your first mission and it is important. Do you know the Rockets?" she said, giving me a serious look. I suddenly remembered that devils in black suits that killed my family. I growled slightly as I was pretty angry at them while Flare was watching at us confusedly.

"Temper, temper. You have to learn to control it also. Anyway, I will explain your mission. There is a Rocket Base near the Goldenrod City. Some documents about Celebi are kept there. There must be in the lab since the Rockets do most research there. Sneak in the base and destroy them or otherwise Celebi can be captured by them. Your master have already burned Mew's documents." She said and that was the time I knew what my master burned. It was the location about Mew. That's why he said it was the thing that can put the world in danger.

"Well, you got it, then." She said and the surrounding around me suddenly changed. I was in a different location. I was in front of a building.

"I cannot teleport you in there because there is a barrier that prevents me from teleporting." She said and I nodded again.

"Take this." She said again, putting a medallion with a sapphire around me.

"Press the sapphire and you will be teleported back to the clearing but it can't be used while you are in the base. Remember this mission is very easy. I am sure you will be able to pull this off." She warned me and disappeared.

"Wait!" I could not stop her. I wanted to ask her what the documents look like since I couldn't read. I signed and approached the building. The door was locked with security passwords which I didn't know. I had to look for another entrance. I went around the building, looking for a possible entrance and I finally found one. There was a hole which was level to the ground and wide enough for me to crawl in. It was a pipe and I couldn't see what's inside since it was dark. I crawled and crawled. Good thing was that it only went horizontally and not vertically because it would be difficult for me to climb if it was. I finally saw some red lights and walked towards it. I was behind a barred window and I saw some rockets, passing by. So I remained still. But why the hell, there was a barred window at the end of the pipe? Did they use the pipe for something else?

After the rockets had passed, I pushed the barred window which was dropped on the ground, making a loud sound. I gasped as I realized what I had done. But fortunately, nobody came and I signed in relief. I did not know where to go, so I went to where the rockets came from. I saw many doors as I passed by each having different colors and different signs. I had never known that the doors would be colored. At the end of the hall, I finally saw a green colored door. It was opened slightly so I pushed it into the room. The room was lighted and I saw many pokemons in cages. These cruel humans must have done it! I scowled as I felt angrier towards humans. I talked to a owl like pokemon in a cage. It was a Hoothoot.

"Hey, do you know where the lab is?" I asked and the Hoothoot shook its head.

"I don't know. I have never been there. Sorry." It said in a female tone.

"Are there anyone who knows where the lab is?" I asked. Luckily, there was no security camera in here. The Rockets must have thought that the pokemons could do nothing if they were in cage.

"I could tell you about that." A male creepy voice said and I turned around to see a Machop in a cage talking to me.

"I've been there once before. They wanted to study me. My mind has been turning somewhat evil. I couldn't bare the experiments and it gonna be tonight. I need you to destroy the lab. It is noon and the lab is clear at noon which might be a good chance." He said, grinning evilly and licking his lips. A shiver went through me as I watched him.

"Go through the hall again. Search for a red door. It should not be not very far away from here." He said creepily, very creepy for a machop.

"Thanks.." I said nervously, not wanting to talk to him anymore. Talking to him scared me. I quickly got out of the room and retraced my steps. After passing three rooms, I could see the red door as mentioned. There were many stairs which led down to a very large room. I went down the stairs step by step and stopped as I noticed the security cameras on the wall. I went upstairs slowly without making a sound. I peeked into the room. There were many security cameras and I didn't see a way to break in. I hid myself behind the door, not knowing what to do. Two rockets stepped into the room and an idea came into my mind. If I could not go into the room myself, I could follow the rockets like I was one of their pokemons. I followed them. It was no surprise that they noticed.

"You must be the vulpix from the training grounds." One of them said and I nodded. This was a perfect opening since they mistook me for another vulpix.

"Don't mind him. Where were we?" another said.

"Joe was executed by the boss for failing him. He never got a hand of those documents." The former one said, with a sad expression on his face while I smirked. I was satisfied to know that bastard's death. It pleased me.

"Well, we can't do anything about it. You know, Giovanni wants mew a lot. It is not surprising that he kills Joe. He was waiting patiently for four years while Joe was doing the job. He trusted in him very much and was hoping to get Mew for sure and yet Joe failed him." The latter one replied.

"Well, it's that bastard scientist's false. If he hadn't quitted Team Rockets and run away with the documents, Joe would still be here. I envy him so much." The former said. I growled slightly as they 

insulted my master a little. But I was somehow surprised that my master used to work for the Rockets. I just couldn't believe my ears.

The two rockets took some test tubes with chemicals while I remained still. They went out of the room without noticing me left behind. This gave me great chance. There were many documents on a table. I couldn't find the Celebi documents since I couldn't read. So I burned all the documents on there since they weren't necessary to me anyway. I've shot some fireballs at the cameras which I should've done first and then at some chemical test tubes on the table. I closed my eyes since I knew that the chemicals would explode when exposed to high temperature. I had seen my master doing chemical works many times. The chemicals exploded and some fire sparks landed in a jar of petrol. I quickly went under the table for cover as it exploded with a big bang. If I hadn't taken cover, I would have been injured for sure. The two rockets from before ran into the room.

"Vulpix, what's wrong with you?" one of the men said, seemed to be surprised.

"There go our Celebi documents! We will be killed for sure." Another said angrily and I smirked as I was sure that my mission was accomplished due to their works.

"We will just have to kill him then." The former one said, taking out a pokeball. I didn't want to deal with a pokemon in this fiery room. So I lunged onto the rocket and bit his hand before he could release the pokemon. He screamed in pain and agony while the other was helping him shake me off. He took out a small knife. I quickly released the first rocket's hand as the other tried to slash me with his knife. It was too late. I closed my eyes quickly. It cut me briefly on my right eyelid. It hurt me like hell which forced me to wince in pain. Blood gushed out from my wound. I managed to make in contact the ground with my four feet. I could only open my left eyes. I was lucky because the knife only cut my eyelid. If the knife caught the eyeball, I could lose my right eye forever. So I was lucky but it would leave a scar for sure.

"You will pay for this!" I yelled angrily, even though I knew that they did not understand me. I lunged myself again, this time at the second one, biting his ear with my fangs covered in fire. Since I managed to control my element now, I could add fire into my fangs quickly. The victim screamed in pain as I tore his ear from his head brutally. I used my full strength since I wanted to make them pay for leaving a hideous scar on my face. Many blood gushed out and he fainted. He only had one ear now. Good riddance! The former got onto his feet again, holding his injured hand by another.

"You bastard!" he said as he stood up shakily. I spat a fireball into his face which he reacted with scream of pain. I smirked but then scowled as the wound on my right eye stung again. I hadn't even opened that eyes yet and it was hurting like hell. I walked up the stairs, leaving the two rockets in the burning room. I walked to where I first got into the base. I saw many rockets running towards the lab. They passed me. They were too worried about the lab to notice me which gave me great chance for escape. But my right eyelid was still bleeding and hurting me. When I arrived at the window, I crawled in again and eventually to the outside the building. Even though I got a wound in my eyelid, I finally accomplished my mission.


	11. Complications

I pressed the sapphire just like Oracle told me to. The surrounding changed again and this time I was right in the clearing and in front of Oracle. How did she know that I would be here? Lilly and Gust was having bath together while Flare was plucking some berries from the bushes. Oracle showed me a sign to follow her and so I did. We walked a few distances where there wasn't anyone around.

"I gave you the easiest mission which took only a few hours." She said and I nodded.

"I accomplished, Oracle." I said, still not opening my right eye.

"Very well but there is one thing I am not satisfied about." She said with a sudden frown on her face. I felt that my body was suddenly lifted and covered in a blue aura. I was thrown back, hurling against a tree, forcing me to wince in pain. I dropped to the ground with a grunting sound.

"Your heart was full of hatred that time that you killed a man and make another loses an ear." She said and my left eye narrowed in surprise. The man whom I shot a fireball at his face died.

"Yes, he died. He got blinded by your fire and went into the bigger fire, burning himself to death." She said seriously. She said like I had made a sin and I growled angrily.

"So what!?" I snarled and she frowned.

"Revenge and anger will not bring anyone you have loved back to life. And it will only make you crazy and insane. You should avoid killing and fighting. Fight only if you have to but never have the will to kill." She said and I scowled. Why did she read other people's minds? It was none of her concern.

"You are lucky that I took that thought as a compliment. I see darkness in your heart. I must wipe that darkness out. Don't think about why I am doing this? I see every member of the Forest Defenders as my child. And when a child does a sin, the mother must give him a punishment. I am not going to heal that wound of yours as a punishment." She said and I scowled. "Now go rest."

She disappeared in a blink of light and I scowled even more. I went back to the clearing and bathed myself in the stream. Lilly and Gust were not there now. They were chatting with Flare. I still could not open my right and my wound stung as water hit it. It started to bleed again due to water. Eyelid was the most delicate part of the skin, no wonder it stung a lot. I got out of the water quickly as I didn't want to be stung anymore. I sat near the stream, licking and grooming my fur. Flare approached me and sat right beside me.

"So was Oracle happy?" she said cheerfully. The two eons must have told her the gardevior.

"Yeah, she was satisfied." I fibbed uneasily, not wanting to upset her. She noticed my wound and became worried.

"You are hurt." She said, worriedly. I should have hid that bruise and opened my eye. There was no surprising that it was clearer on my face since it started to bleed again.

"Don't worry. A scratch like this cannot harm me." I lied to her again and she scowled, knowing that I was lying.

"I'll make you feel better. Hold still, this will sting you a little." She said and I nodded. With my left eye, I could see her stood in front of me and began to lick my wound. It stung a lot and in the face, too. I tried to hide my frown as best as I could but didn't need to later one, since it was getting better and better. I 

just felt warm and happy enough to forget about that sting. I didn't where my anger towards Oracle went. All I know was that I was starting to like Flare even though I hate to admit it. I had never had a female grooming me before since I was bred by a human family. Being groomed by Flare made me feel happy and warm and yet I didn't know why. She stopped and I felt suddenly unhappy.

"I told you that you would feel better." She said and I turned away in embarrassment. I noticed that she did the same with a same red face as mine.

"Anyway…" I turned my face towards hers to say thanks but our lips touched since she did the same. Both of our faces turned distinctly and I turned away. What was that!? It was somehow nice. No, it was just a coincidence and there was nothing for me to fear. So I turned towards her again. She was still turning the other way with a very red face. She turned her face slowly and shyly.

"Anyway, thanks." I said, giving a lick on her cheek and involuntarily gave her a kiss. I gasped as I realized what I just did. She blushed again and smiled at me shyly. Her face was really red.

"You are welcome." She said, in a shy tone. I lied down to rest and she lied down beside me. I put my paw on her shoulder occasionally, showing the sign that I didn't want her to leave.

"So how are you feeling now?" she started. I still could not open my eye yet but a lot better than the last time. And it had completely stopped bleeding and I was satisfied with that, thanks to Flare.

"A lot better I would say." I said cheerfully. I yawned as I wanted to sleep a little.

"Do you want to sleep?" she said, smiling at me. I nodded and she rested her head on my back just like before. I smiled, pretty satisfied with what she was doing. If I had to admit, resting her head like that made pretty happy and warm. I may have known her only for a few days but she was closer to me than anymore. She never did a harmful thing to me while Lilly drenched me a lot for being rude and Oracle just slammed me into a tree for punishment. Not to mention that Gust threatened me since he thought I was checking out on her maid.

"Well, I hope you like what I am doing?" she said. I didn't intend to rest my head on her neck since I would wake up with a little pain in my neck but it would please, I would rather hurt myself. I rested my head on her neck like before.

"Sure do, Flare." I answered. I had both of my eyes, closed, relaxing my limbs and muscles. I could tell that she was smiling even though I could not see. It was just an instinct. I somehow could tell how she felt. Was it because the relationship between me and her was getting deeper and stronger? Or was I starting to see her as my life partner, my mate? No, that couldn't be it. I just needed to get these feelings clear. Did I want her to be my mate or did I not? Did I want to spend the rest of my life with her or did I not? I had to make sure what I was feeling. But all I knew was that I finally fell asleep peacefully with no one to disturb me.


	12. Gust's New Rival

I woke up early. There was no surprising that I could open both of my eyes but the scar must be still there. It had eventually become a mark. I removed my head from her neck and looked around just to see the dawn. No one was awake. Even Flare was still sleeping. Both of us must have slept all through the evening. I didn't move, not wanting to wake Flare. We just had slept without a bed to lie on. I rested my head on the ground, thinking about Flare. I was pretty sure that she must have felt the same way yesterday. It wasn't really flirting but then I remembered when I thought it was disgusting to see the eons flirting with each others. But what was about now? Were we flirting with each other? No way, I would do that. I still could not accept this until I truly saw it with my eyes. I turned my head just to look at the sleeping vulpix's face. She was extremely beautiful and I was completely lost in her face. Just how beautiful she was. I could not resist what I was thinking. That was true; she really was beautiful all along.

She opened her eyes slowly and gazed at my face. She gave me a lovely smile.

"Morning." she said softly as she removed her head from my back.

"Morning, Flare." I returned the greeting, slowly getting up. But then I became quite unhappy, since I've become somehow ugly because of the scar.

"What's wrong?" she said, noticing my face.

"Well, I got this scar and…." I replied sadly and she interrupted my sentence.

"Don't worry appearance. I found you cute since the day I met you and I still find you." She admitted hastily and I blinked in surprised. Her eyes widened and her face starting to get red slightly. My face was slightly red also. She found me cute from the beginning. She must have a struggle in her mind, since she did not admit it till now.

"Don't be shy. It is okay." I said, giving a lick on her cheek and her face turned distinctly red.

"I found you beautiful, too." I admitted truthfully with my face, turning distinctly red. What gotten into me that time? I just admitted my feeling towards her. What's wrong with me? But I still thought I could trust her somehow.

"So you guys are awake." Gust said from behind me. I turned around see the leafeon and vaporeon, walking towards us.

"I am thinking about taking you guys a tour around the Celadon City." Lilly said. Both Flare and I blinked in surprise. They were going to take us a tour around the city. I wasn't expecting that. But I was quite somehow since I'd never seen the city before.

"Do you want to go?" I asked Flare warily. She nodded as an answer.

"Well, then, if everyone agrees, let's get going." Gust said hastily. It was intimidating that he really wanted to go. He had never been to the city before from his looks. Lilly gave him a warning glare since he was pretty hasty which turned out to be pretty rude in society.

"Let's hit the road. I am sure that we will find breakfast in the city." Lilly pointed out politely.

"What kind of breakfast?" I said, curiously. We didn't how to contact with people and how would we eat like that. Lilly smiled at me nervously as we walked along the road.

"We would be lucky if we get any waste over food." She said politely and I rolled my eyes in disappointment. I was the vulpix of high family and I would not effort doing that. I would rather eat the Persim berry, the berry I hated most!

"Let's head back!" I snarled, retraced myself but stopped by Flare.

"Why? You should be used to any kind of food." She said, in a demanding voice. I growled angrily and she approached me and nuzzled my neck gently like Lilly nuzzled Gust's. My anger magically disappeared and rather shocked by her reaction. She demanded and then nuzzled me. That was a mushy stuff but I wondered why I suddenly felt happy again. Did she really want me to her mate? I could not do anything but be nuzzled by Flare. I licked Flare's cheek in return. She smiled, satisfied by my reaction.

"Thanks," I said, giving her a lovely smile. I really started to consider about becoming her mate. It would not be that bad. She nuzzled me more and the two eons were watching at us.

"Can we go now?" Gust said, impatiently and Lilly gave him, a burst of water, drenching the leaves and his fur. Gust grunted in reaction, Lilly drenched him more. Then I noticed that a yellow four-legged creature was coming this way. It had a rose in his mouth, trying to be attractive or so I thought. It was a jolteon, smiling like a prince with a rose in its mouth. I found it quite disgusting for a jolteon to be like that.

"Well, Lilly. What a surprise to meet you here on the road. It saved me trouble, coming to your clearing." It said in a male tone, trying to charming without success. I scowled in disgust and Lilly gave me a warning glare. He approached the vaporeon and stood right in front of her. That made Gust frowned and growled angrily. He was giving a threatening glare to the jolteon who either ignored him or not notice his glare.

"Lightning, what're you doing?" Lilly asked in annoyed tone.

"Well, your Prince Charming is here. This rose suited you perfectly." He said, taking the rose with his paw and handing it over to Lilly who stared at him in disgust. I wanted to laugh a lot but tried to control it without success. Was he trying to be charming or trying to be disgusting? Flare did a better job than me even though she snickered a little with her paw covering her mouth while Gust was taking the battle pose, baring his teeth. His eyes were fiery more than ever. He was too overprotective over Lilly. If Lilly didn't give him signs to listen to Lightning's comment, he would have attacked him for sure.

"Hey, I told you twice already. I already have a mate and I didn't need you." She answered politely, her eyes pointing to Gust.

"You don't need that loser. Your strong Lightning is here." Lightning said, mockingly. This made Gust blasted like a volcano. He lunged towards the jolteon and tackled him. I found it quite surprising that Lilly didn't do anything to him for his rudeness. Maybe she was pretty angry too. Gust winced in pain as some of the quills on Lightning's body stung him. But he stood on his four paws again, and assumed the battle pose and the jolteon mimicked his action.

"I will kill you, bastard!" Gust snapped angrily, baring his teeth while Lightning act like he didn't care at all.

"Well, you want a challenge. That's fine with me. But if I win, Lilly is all mine." He demanded, smirking confidently which caused Gust to growl angrily.

"But if you lose, you will have to promise that you will never check out on my mate again." He said harshly.

"And while you are at it, can you please take us a tour in the city if you lose?" I added and the jolteon nodded. Gust made the first move, charging towards Lightning which he retaliated with lightning shock flowing from his body. It missed as Gust disappeared, reappearing behind him. He used Quick Attack to dodge it and to approach Lightning. Two vines emerged from his body, wrapping Lightning's hind paws and slamming him into the ground, forcing him to groan in pain. Lightning countered with thunder flowing from his body which eventually hit Gust, which made him loose the vines and collapsed. Lightning landed on his four paws and tackled Gust, not noticing a small seed Gust retaliated. The small seed landed on the jolteon's back. However, Gust was thrown backward and forced to lie on the ground. He stood on his four paws, but his legs were trembling.

This was getting amusing and I was thinking about asking some berries from Lilly but then again, I better not. I knew that I would get drenched in return. It would be rude when I asked her while she was being prized. Gust's body glowed and his feet were not trembling anymore.

"Luckily, I have stored enough amount of light in my chrolophyll to use Synthesis." He said, lunging towards Lightning. I noticed that the seed on Lightning's back had already grown into a small plant. Gust charged some razor leaves towards Lightning who dodged them but got cut by four of them. Lightning retaliated with lightning bolt again but Gust dodged it impressively. Lightning seemed to become weaker and weaker while Gust became stronger and stronger. Lightning released a lightning bolt again but it was weaker than the first one. Gust disappeared before the bolt was about to hit and reappeared behind Lightning. His tail glowed green and smashed Lightning into the back, forcing him to scream him in pain and agony.

"Okay, I give up." Lightning surrendered tiredly as he collapsed, panting.

"Why was I getting weaker and weaker during the battle?" he muttered.

"You got weaker because I used Leech Seed when you sent me backward." Gust explained seriously. Now I knew the reason why. I guessed Gust wasn't a bad fighter after all.


	13. Lightning's Home

**Flare's POV**

Lightning slowly stood up on his feet. He grunted as he took an intense damage from Gust. Gust's legs were also trembling. Lilly ran to Gust worriedly and licked him in the face which Gust returned with a similar manner.

"You two are one loving couple." Lightning admitted, grinning. I signed in relief as I knew that both of them were alright. I nuzzled his head gently and he licked my head in return. I really didn't know why and how. But I liked him and fell for him. I finally accepted my feeling when our lips touched into an accident kiss. I really enjoyed that time and I wanted to again. Neon may be having a crush on me, too. Otherwise he won't even lick me affectionately.

"Well, I guess I cannot check on Lilly anymore." Lightning said, his face and ears drooped. I felt sorry for him. If I knew that Neon had no interest in me, I would feel the same way. He did try his best but unfortunately, who he was checking out was Gust's mate. Judging from the incident, Gust really loved Lilly, judging from his reactions when Lightning started to flirt with Lilly in a disgusting way.

"And, I will give you a tour around the city." He said, smiling. All of us blinked our eyes in surprise. Did he seriously take Neon's words?

"Really?" I asked in surprise. Neon seemed to perk up a lot while Gust was giving the jolteon a doubtful look and Lilly was giving him a surprised look.

"That's good." Neon said excitedly. I somehow agreed with Neon. Since he seemed to be from the city, he would know better than the rest of us.

"Let's just go without." Gust insisted and Lilly gave him a warning look.

"I accept that offer, Lightning." Lilly said politely. She immediately changed her mood from before. This time, she looked more sociable and polite.

"It would rude to refuse your generous offer." She added which caused the leafeon to growl.

"What're we waiting for? Let's go!" Neon said happily. And I signed in disappointment. I had never seen him like that. This time, he was at full potential. When Neon looked at me, I shook my head, showing the sign not to do that again. I somehow was embarrassed by Neon even though he was not my mate yet. I smiled briefly just to cheer the rest of the group.

We were on our way again. In the next few minutes, we would be in the Celadon City. Gust was pretty angry and Lilly was trying to cheer him on. He turned away whenever Lilly looked at him which meant that he was sulking. He seemed to be older than me and yet he was acting like a child. I was slightly disappointment by his actions even though I hid the expression. Neon was pretty hyperactive like my sister, judging from how he looked. I just couldn't stay with like that.

"Neon, what's wrong with you today?" I whispered into his ears. He looked at me confusedly.

"You are pretty hyperactive." I whispered to him in a warning tone.

"That's because I am happy. Lightning may know where good food is and I don't have to eat left-over food anymore." He whispered back and I frowned. What's wrong eating left over? Even I was okay with 

that. I gave him a frown of annoyance. He flinched as he saw my frown. He slowly approached me and gave me a lick in cheek.

"I promised I won't do what you don't like." He said, smiling. That made me satisfied and blushed slightly. I smiled just to show that. It was good that he calmed down himself. Gust seemed to still sulking, giving the silent treatment which caused Lilly to growl.

"That's very rude, not appreciating a lady's action of comfort. If you want it that way, fine. I can sulk the way you do." She snapped, looking away from Gust. Those two surely acted like kids. Everyone was strange to me that day. She walked away from him and a side with Lightning who didn't pay any attention to her. That jolteon surely kept his word but Gust growled slightly. He seemed to be angry that Lilly let Lightning to take them on a tour. Gust showed Lightning a sign to move away. He seemed to understand and moved away. I was the only one who was not weird. I signed with my ears drooped.

"Here we are, the Celadon City." Lightning said. There were a lot of buildings and I stared them in awe. Gust, too, was making a similar action as mine while Neon and Lilly didn't seemed to be surprised at all. As for me, this was my first time in a city as I had already spent my life with my parents in the forest until now.

"You like it?" Lightning asked me and I nodded. He stood beside me and smiled in satisfaction.

"This place is suitable for beautiful ladies like you." He said, trying to attract me. He got a fiery stare from Neon and I smiled uneasily since I felt guilty for being between those two. Even if I didn't admit it, I didn't need Lightning to say that for me. Just to see Neon being jealous made me glad since I knew that he cared for me. We continued walking with Lightning leading us.

"By the way, how do Lilly and you know each other?" I asked curiously, approaching.

"Well, Lilly visits this city often. From the first time I met her, I fell for her." He said sincerely. I knew that he had been telling the truth from the sadistic look from his face.

"I spied on her since then. I eventually tried to confess her my love. When I confessed her the first time, I was rejected. She said that she had a mate and I suddenly wanted to give up. I cried secretly in my bed back at my home." He said.

"You are a human-owned?" I asked curiously.

"Yeah, I am just a humble human-bred jolteon. Anyway, after a week, I decided that I would try again. This time, I secretly followed Lilly to her clearing. Then I suddenly felt a stab of sadness in my heart when I saw her, licking a leafeon's cheek, grooming his fur. I spied on them for a little longer just to make sure that they were mates." He said, emotionally. I was starting to feel sorry that time but as he became more emotional I suddenly felt that he was disgusting.

"You spied on us!" Gust yelled angrily and Lilly gave him a sarcastic look.

"Mr. Grumpy had just learned how to speak. Congratulation." She mocked politely and I rolled my eyes in disappointment. Gust growled slightly, baring his teeth.

"I should have given up that time but I didn't. I confessed her the next day and she rejected me again. I felt that I was sunk in the sea." He said sadly in an emotional and I signed and rolled my eyes again. I 

could see that Neon was doing the same. Even though I was mild, I found Lightning's behavior disgusting.

"That was two weeks ago. This morning, I finally felt my spirit, burning with love. I asked a rose from my owner. Even though he didn't know pokemon's language, he understood what I meant since I was looking at the roses he bought this morning. He gave me one and I took it to give you. I tried to be affectionate and failed as you see. Now, I had lost my chance with her, since I am a man true to my word." He said becoming more emotional. A pair of tears fell from each eye of his. I smiled uneasily to hide the fact I found him more disgusting. I tried not to laugh but released a little chuckle.

"Yeah, your tears proved that." Neon said sarcastically. His face showed that he was disgusted too. This morning got weirder and weirder. Even Lightning became weirder from minutes ago.

After a while, we arrived in front of a small house compared to those big buildings I saw before.

"Welcome to my humble home." Lightning said brightly. He approached the house and knocked the door. The door opened, revealing a young man. He seemed to pretty young. He noticed Lightning and picked him up by the arms which were not covered in quills.

"Lightning, it is you. You went out a bit earlier this morning." He said with a warm smile. Lightning gave out a chuckle and he did the same. Lightning then pointed his paw at us.

"So you've brought a few friends here. Come on in, guys." The young man said, with a welcoming smile and putting Lightning down. We walked inside and gazed around his house. There were many paintings and an undone painting on an easel. I guessed that he was a painter. My tummy growled and everyone looked at me. I snickered in embarrassment, with my face slight red.

"Well, someone's hungry. Why don't we all have our breakfast?" he said, taking out a few plate. I could tell that he was opening cans by the sound.

"Your owner is nice. What's his name?" I whispered to Lightning.

"Well, his name is Jeffery. I've been living with him three and a half years. He is nice indeed. Since I was a baby eevee, he rose and kept me safe." He answered with a smile. Neon was smiling, trying to hide his sadness. I could tell that he was sad because I saw a few tears falling from his eyes even though no one noticed it. He was trying very hard to smile. I just wondered what could have happened in his past.


	14. The Mall

I approached Neon and sat beside him just to make sure that he knew that he had me on his side.

"Is there something wrong?" I asked, nuzzling his neck. His paw went my back down. He smiled at me just to hide his sadness. I knew that he was sad even though he was ensuring me that he wasn't. I made a small chuckle as his paw ran down my back again. He still had a few tears, falling from his eyes. Some of them dropped on my face. And I nuzzled him more just to comfort him. It was very good that the others didn't notice him since Gust and Lilly were looking interestedly at Jeffery and Lightning was sitting beside Jeffery, soothing his master.

"Well, nothing is wrong with me, Flare." Neon finally said, running his paw down my back once again. He wasn't sobbing anymore and the tears had disappeared. I hoped he would stay that way for now since I wasn't sure what to do again if he went into that sadistic mood. One thing for sure was that I noticed myself that I was starting to care about him but since when? I did fall for him for sure.

"Well, here's we are." I turned as I heard Jeffery's voice. He placed some plates with brown balls on them on the floor, each in front of us. I really didn't know what those brown balls were. Lilly and Gust were confused, too. I went near the plate in front of, observing the strange balls. I touched it with my paw just to make sure if it was edible. Neon picked up one of these strange balls from the plate in front of him and chewed it happily. Lightning was doing the same while Gust, Lilly and I were staring at them in confusion.

"These are chocolate-flavored pokemon food-balls. These are delicious. You should try some." Neon said, with his mouthful. I stared at the strange things again. My tummy growled. I put my trust in Neon and picked one of the balls and chewed it slowly. It was soft and somehow sweet. It tasted good so I grabbed two at this time and chewed them.

"I don't mean to be rude but are you sure that those are edible?" Lilly asked politely, pointing at her plate with a paw.

"Trust me. These are great." Lightning said, in a familiar way as Neon.

"Well, guess there is no helping then." Lilly said, grabbing a ball and chewing it. She smiled in satisfaction, ignoring Gust's annoyed growl.

"Lightning was right. These are great. I think they will cheer you up." She said politely to Gust who turned away from her. I could see that he was still sulking but I couldn't help him. So I continued to eat my food. Gust's tummy growled this time and his face turned slight red.

"I'm only eating it because I am hungry." Gust said indifferently and Lilly smiled. Gust grabbed one of the balls and chewed it. He then suddenly perked up from his grumpy face before. He looked at Lilly who was smiling in satisfaction since Gust's reaction towards her was getting better. Gust grunted, taking two of the balls in his mouth. He closed his eyes and turned away from Lilly, chewing the food.

"Now, now, don't be rude, Gust." Lilly said cheerfully and Gust growled slightly. I wanted to laugh at Gust's reaction since he really was childish that time.

After fifteen minutes, we have eaten up to our full. The food was really good. Lilly let out a loud burp. Everyone, except Gust, looked at her and burst out into laughter.

"Sorry for my rudeness." She apologized politely, bowing her head towards. Her face was turning red, showing her embarrassment.

"Now that we are not hungry anymore, I'll take you to the mall." Lightning insisted. Jeffery looked at us, confusingly since he didn't understand what we were saying. Lightning went inside and came out with a small bag in his mouth.

"I will buy you stuffs that you wanted." He said uneasily, with a bag in his mouth.

"You really don't need to." Lilly said politely. She really was good at society more than any of us.

"It's not like I will have to treat you every day. So I will do you a friendly favor since I have the chance to do so." He said uneasily and grinned briefly. Lightning was surely a nice jolteon. He was only disgusting when he act emotional or tried to flirt with other. I believed that he will never have a mate of his own. Jeffery understandingly opened the door for us.

"Have a nice time with your friends, Lightning." He said, waving his hand as we went out.

We could see the mall as we closely approached. It only took a few minutes for us to get there. However, it really was very big and high. I gazed at it in awe. Gust seemed to be amazed by this high building while Neon and Lilly remained indifferent.

"What're we waiting for? Let's go inside." Lightning said and we went inside. The mall was amazing, decorated beautifully. I had never seen this kind of decoration before in my life.

"Well, let's go to the accessory floor. We don't need other stuffs anyway." Neon said and Lightning nodded. We walked to a door which automatically opened as we approached. We went into the room which was pretty narrow but wide enough for all of us to fit. Lightning observed some buttons on the sides of the door. He was still holding the bag in his mouth. I guess it had money in it. He then pressed one of the buttons and the door slowly closed. I suddenly felt that the room was moving vertically. After a few seconds, the doors opened again, revealing to a new room. I stepped into the room and gazed around in awe again.

"Well, I predicted that you would be like that." Lightning said, smirking.

"Yeah, I've never seen such place before." I said, continued to gaze. There were many humans and many things on display, too.

"Look around. I am sure that I have enough money." He said. We did as he said and browsed stuffs. I felt a little uncomfortable, since the mall was quite crowded. I saw a thing that caught my eyes. It was a beautiful yellow collar and I really wanted it. But I decided not ask Lightning since I didn't want to trouble him. We had owned him our breakfast and many others even though Gust was pretty angry at him. I looked at the collar again, smiling slightly.

"Hey, come along. You will be left alone." Neon said and I hastily followed him.

"So did you find something that interests you?" Lightning said and I shook my head. Of course, I was lying. That collar had really caught my eyes.

"This place is a little too crowded for me." I said and Lilly nodded in agreement. The boys still wanted to browse some more even though we, ladies, were uncomfortable in the crowd.

"Well, you can go back to stay with Jeffery if you want." Neon said and I nodded. Gust paid no attention to Lilly which meant he was slightly mad at her. Lilly signed in disappointment and both of us went down the stairs. I really didn't like to go on that moving-room thing or whatever it was called.

"Hey, don't you think that we should have taken the elevator?" Lilly said and I shook my head in disagreement. So that room was called 'elevator', I got to keep that in mind.

"It creep me out." I added. We went out of the mall after we got to the first floor. I took trace of our way so I could easily go to Jeffery's house. I sure hope they would be okay in the crowd.


	15. The Painting

After some minutes, we finally arrive back at Jeffery's house. I knocked the door like Lightning did and Jeffery welcomed us inside.

"Why did you two come back early?" he said kindly and I let out a shrill.

"Well then, you are lucky because you can see me finishing my masterpiece." He said. I blinked in surprise. Did he mean that unfinished painting from this morning? Jeffery stood in front of the easel and began painting again. I inched tentatively just to study what he was painting. Lilly shoved me slightly to notice her.

"You should not be inquisitive about other's work. It is rude." She whispered into my ears and I nodded my head indifferently. She really cared about one's social. Gust must have been attacked by her many times just because he was rude. Gust somehow was overprotective over Lilly but now he was sulking even if it was a little.

"Lilly, can I ask you something?" I asked politely, sitting near Lilly. I started to groom my fur.

"What is it?" she answered in a gentle, polite tone.

"Forgive me if I am rude but does Gust act like this often?"I said, looking at her.

"Well, he sometimes acts like this when he is gloomy or mad at me. But this time, he got madder. I think he is just jealous of Lightning." She said. I could not say a word but looked at her as if I wanted to know about her past. She noticed what I was curious to know.

"When we first met, he was extremely wild and hostile; completely different from whom he is now. Of course, he was extremely rude. He wanted to change himself after meeting me. It took both of us quite amount of time to change his nature. But one thing I cannot change even now is that he's overprotective over me which made him act rudely towards some strangers. I told him that I could protect myself." She said, and I nodded in agreement. Males should not underestimate the females since they had their own strength.

"Anyway, I had to tell you something. You really are curious about others' personal information which makes you somehow rude. I told just because I put my trust on you." She said, smirking at me slightly. I signed in embarrassment with my face slightly red. Waiting for Jeffery to finish his masterpiece bored me and I fell asleep eventually.

I woke up as I felt my face soaked in water. Lilly must have drenched me for a reason.

"Vaporeon, you don't need to do that." I heard Jeffery's voice from behind Lilly. Jeffery took out a piece of cloth and brushed me with it, drying my fur. He then petted my head gently, causing me to close my eyes in comfort.

"Well, it's time to show my painting to both of you." He said. Lilly must have drenched because he was going to show us his masterpiece. He approached the painting which was covered with white clothing. Why did he use white cloth very much? But I could felt my heart rate, getting faster, he touched the clothing. I wanted to see what his masterpiece looked like. He removed the painting and I gazed it in awe. It was the painting of him and Lightning. He was sleeping under a tree in the meadow with his hands behind his head, leading against the trunk. Lightning was sleeping on his laps.

"This painting is to show the friendship between me and Lightning." He said, with a smile on his face. "I will never sell it or exhibit it in my life. But this is my masterpiece for sure. What do you think about it?"

"That's beautiful." I said even though I knew that he couldn't understand me.

"I am glad that you love it." He said. I knew that he could only hear a vulpix's regular cry which I didn't even know in spite of being a vulpix.

He covered the painting in white cloth again and my face and ears drooped in disappointment. I wanted to look at this beautiful painting longer. I guessed I would see that again after Lightning had come back. He definitely would show him since they were very close friends.

"Well, he and Lightning surely have sparked a life-long friendship." Lilly said and I nodded.

"Lightning must have considered him as a very close friend." I replied sincerely. There was a knock on the door. As I suspected, the boys were back. Jeffery opened the door for them and they walked in. Neon had a package in his mouth. He blushed slightly as I looked at him. I wondered what he got in that package. Lightning still had that bag in his mouth. Gust was holding a package in his mouth, too. I signed in disappointment. I felt bad for Lightning who bought them stuffs after it was his money.

"Neon, don't you feel bad for Lightning?" I asked.

"Well, don't worry about it. I still have a lot of money in my bag." He said, comforting me. Neon then handed the package to Jeffery, wanting him to untie it. Jeffery was surprised to see a yellow collar. It was the collar that caught my eyes. Neon pointed his nose towards me, showing a sign to tie it around my neck. He understandingly kneeled down, just to tie the collar. I looked amazingly at my new collar that Neon got it for me. It wasn't uncomfortable at all. I liked the collar very much.

"Thanks." I said happily and got a smile in return.

"You look beautiful with the collar." Neon said and I blushed. I approached Neon and gave him a lick in the cheek as thanks. I really realized that I started to lick and nuzzle him a lot. Maybe it was just because I accepted myself that I liked him. Neon got a present for me but I wondered what Gust got in his package. It must be a present for Lilly even though I knew that he wouldn't admit it. Lightning noticed my glance at Gust's package.

"It is a present for Lilly from him. He was a little stubborn. But he bought it anywhere." He whispered quietly and I snickered.

"Is this a present for me?" Lilly asked and Gust turned around with a fake frown.

"This is not for you." He said uneasily with the package in his mouth. I knew that it was a present for her in reality. Lilly seemed to notice that, too. She gave out a snicker. She then grabbed it when Gust was off guard.

"Grabbing others' possession is rude." He said and Lilly grinned.

"There is no rudeness in helping others who can't accept the truth." She replied politely with a smirk on her face. Everyone busted out into laughter except Jeffery who was looking at the eons confusedly.

"Fine, take it if you want. It is priceless anyway." Gust said, turning the other way. I saw that he smiled briefly. Lilly tore the package to find a beautiful blue bracelet. She could put it on her wrist without any help from Jeffery. It was sparkling and beautiful even though it was a little loose. But I could say that that bracelet would not fall off since her paw was bigger than her wrist.

"You look good with that bracelet." I admitted sincerely since the bracelet matched her perfectly.

"Well, thank you." She said with a satisfied grin on her face. Jeffery was looking at us in a confused way since he couldn't understand us.

"By the way, Jeffery got a surprise for you." I said to Lightning who looked at me confusedly. I jumped and took the white clothing off the painting with my mouth, revealing the beautiful painting, done by the talented artist. Jeffery was looking at me in awe. He never expected for me to do the job for him. Lightning gazed the painting in both awe and happiness.

"Is this done by Jeffery?" he asked in awe and I nodded.

"This is truly amazing." Neon admitted. I noticed that Gust was looking at the painting in an amazed look. Lightning leapt onto Jeffery's arm mischievously and licked his face.

"Stop it! Your quills hurt me." Jeffery said, chuckling. I could tell that he was happy enough to forget the pain and Lightning moved involuntarily because of his happiness. Neon was smiling and tears were dripping from his eyes the same time. Maybe this reminded of a memory about his past. Was he a human-bred before? He could be but I remained silent, not certain about this. The others did not notice him which was actually a good thing. I sat beside him, nuzzling my head against his neck just to comfort him.

"I am really okay." He said but I continued to nuzzle him. He put his paw on my shoulder and both of us continued to gaze at the beautiful sight.


	16. Confession

After a while, we ate our dinner. Those chocolate balls surely tasted good. We said good bye to the house owners, Jeffery and Lightning. The sun was already setting by the time we left. It was going to be night soon. I looked at my new collar proudly. Neon really was nice to me. We only had known each other only for a few days but now we were more than best friend even though we only said that we were only best friends. Both of us attracted each other more and more day by day. Gust was still angry a little at Lilly who pretended to ignore him without any success. They just needed to get along.

After the dinner, our group left Jeffery's house in order to return to the clearing. Lightning and Jeffery were waving at us and I and Lilly waved back in return. We didn't want to be rude but the boys did not do anything. Gust was looking away from Lilly and Neon was staying indifferent. We started to walk again and again. I still felt bad about Lightning. Neon noticed my look and asked me.

"Do you still feel guilty for using Lightning's money?" I nodded and he smiled.

"Well then, I will take back that collar and return it to Lightning." He said sarcastically and I blinked. Of course, I didn't want to give this collar away.

"On the other hand, if we were to give this back, it will somehow make us guilty since it was like we really do not appreciate his offer truthfully. So it is better to keep it."I countered which caused Neon to chuckle slightly. He then approached me and gave me a lick in the cheek. I blushed slightly.

"Well, I really like you that way." He said sincerely and my blush intensified. I turned from him because I was too shy for that word.

"What should I say?" I replied nervously and Neon chuckled again. I continued walking with my red face which caused Lilly to snicker quietly. After a while, we arrived at the clearing but Gust walked farther more from the clearing.

"He is like that again." Lilly signed in disappointment. Neon blinked in surprise. I knew that these stuffs had happened between them sometimes.

"I must go after him." Lilly said worriedly. "But you two stay here."

She ran after Gust and Neon and I were left here, feeling awkward of their sudden behavior. Neon then smirked and approached me.

"Let's go after them." He said and I blinked in surprise. Why did he want to go after them?

"Why? They will be okay, won't they?" I asked sincerely.

"Well, they will be okay but aren't you curious about their feelings towards each other?" he said with a wink. The truth was that I was quite curious even though I was pretending that I was not. Lilly and Gust were mates and I knew that. But spying on them seemed to a little bit difficult though. Lilly would surely kill us for our rudeness and Gust would do the same since he didn't being spied. He was overprotective over Lilly.

"We better not spy on them." I answered and Neon smirked, noticing that I was curious.

"I am going to peek, which means you will be left here alone…" he paused, his face drooped and I blinked in surprise since I didn't know the reason he was drooping for. He slowly turned his face towards me. His face was scary that time but I knew that he was doing a scary face on purpose. He was giving me a sinister smile, wide enough to show all of his fangs. His eyes were horrifying and weird. Why was he acting weird all the time?

"..in the dark." He continued, in the creepy tone, causing me to roll over the ground and burst out laughing. It was night all right but just seeing him, trying to be creepy and horrifying, made me laugh. He blinked in surprise, wondering why I was laughing.

"What's so funny?" he asked in an annoyed tone but I continued to laugh more, putting my paws on my stomach. The suspense was killing me and I couldn't stop. Just as when I got up, he shoved and pinned me to the ground.

"Well, answer me." He said in confusion and I chuckled more even though I was pinned to the ground.

"You are so funny when you make scary face." I said, still chuckling. Neon let me go and I got up.

"Well, I'm glad that you find my face funny." He said, joining in the laughter. I guessed he had imagined himself in that face.

"I think you will never learn Scary Face technique." I said, laughing even more. I panted, finally stopping from laughter and Neon, too, had stopped.

"Well, let's peek if you want." I said, wanting Neon to do what he wanted. I just wanted him to be happy. Neon was blinking at me in confusion. I went him and starting to push him.

"What happened to you suddenly?" he asked confusedly while I pushing him forward.

"Come on. We will miss all the good parts." I said, grunting as it was hard to push him forward. He finally smiled and started walking. We followed the tracks quietly. After a few steps, we could see the two angry eons. We hid behind the bush not very far away so that we could hear them.

"Why were you acting like a kid in front of everyone? It was very rude to do that!" Lilly yelled angrily. Gust was in a battle pose, baring his teeth. Lilly was in the same position.

"Well, why did you accept that jerk's offer?" Gust yelled in reply.

"You don't have to be so overprotective over me, you idiot! Every woman can protect herself." Lilly snarled. This wasn't going very well.

"What's wrong with that?" Gust snapped.

"Well, it made me embarrassed. You should know that I love you all along. But you never put your trust in me. How can we be mates if we don't trust one another?" she cried in both sadness and anger. She really didn't want to fight with her mate. I knew it since it was all written all on her face. She was crying, shredding many tears. Gust's frown suddenly changed to a sad expression.

"Bye, then!" Lilly snapped, walking away. Gust frowned again and turned away as Lilly slowly disappeared into the forest.

"You should go after her." Neon said, revealing himself to Gust. I revealed myself, too.

"Why should I?" Gust muttered, shredding some tears.

"Lilly once told me that guys don't cry." Neon said, letting out a small snicker.

"I am asking you a question!" Gust snapped. Neon remained calm as usual.

"It's okay if you don't. But I am sure that she must be really afraid, being alone in the dark. If something comes, who will protect her? Don't tell me that she will protect herself. She may be capable of protecting herself sometimes but not always. There may be sometimes when she can't but you can." Neon said calmly, with a smile. Gust turned away and grunted.

"I am telling you because you are one of my friends. What Lilly meant was you were a too overprotective over Lilly which in turn made Lilly thinks that you didn't trust her. But you can protect her when she was really in need." Neon continued but Gust's mood remained the same.

"Let leave him alone, Neon. He is only a jerk." I mocked purposely even though I didn't want to do so.

"You are right, Flare." Neon said, a fake frown appeared on his face. We walked back to the clearing and sat in the middle, gazing at the sky.

"Do you think Lilly will be okay?" I asked nervously but Neon's smile hadn't disappeared.

"Well, of course she will. Gust will go after her." He said, comforting me as he ran his paw down on my back. I signed in sadness.

"They have been mates for very long. I just don't want to see a couple breaking up." I said, sadly with my head and ears drooped.

"They are old enough to handle themselves." Neon comforted me more. This time, he licked my forehead.

"Speaking of mates, I have to ask you something." Neon suddenly said nervously with his distinct red face.

"Yes?" I replied sadly, still feeling sorry for the eons couple.

"Actually, it is quite complicated. Have you thought about having a family?" Neon said, with his red face. I suddenly perked up and gave him a confused look. Why was he suddenly asking of these things?

"Can you tell me what do you mean by that question?" I asked nervously. He gulped in a frightened way with his face distinctly red.

"I wanted to know if you wanted to be my mate." He confessed nervously, grinning in an uneasy way. I gasped in surprise, causing me to look away from him with my distinctly red face.

"After what I've seen, I still need time to think about it." I replied sincerely. I just saw the two eon mates quarreling with each other. I didn't want Neon and I to be like that. And anyhow, he should be feeling sorry for those two and should not think about confessing.

"You see, both of us have awkward feelings towards each other. I knew when I slept with you the first night. It is making me crazy just to figure out all these puzzles. But now, I truly believe that I have fallen in love with you. You are feeling the same way, aren't you?" he said reasonably. It was true that I had been feeling the same way as him. My face turned distinctly red. He attracted me so much nowadays and now he was confessing me earlier than I thought. Maybe I should accept his feelings or maybe I should not. I was loss in this puzzle while Neon was looking at me hopefully. I finally signed and gave him my answer.

"I will be your mate, Neon." I said, smiling warmly. He became suddenly happy. I licked his neck and groomed his fur as to show my affection towards him. Maybe it would not be bad to be Neon's mate at all.


	17. Gust's Mind

**Gust's POV**

I stayed in my location for a while, thinking about our relationship. Lilly and I had been mates for many months and to be sincere, I really didn't want us to break up in this way. I felt very sad and depressed in the deep bottom of my heart even though I was hiding this sadness. Maybe I couldn't it hide at all since I was crying slightly in front of Flare and Neon. I rubbed my tears away. Even though I didn't want her to leave, I was still angry at her. It's all because of that yellow freak! If he hadn't tried to flirt with Lilly with his disgusting way, I might not be angry. And what worse, Lilly accepted his offer which meant that she was somehow interested in him. Maybe I was finding Lilly wrong since I was very jealous of Lightning because Lilly accepted his offer. She said she was only trying to be polite.

"Why were you acting like a kid in front of everyone?" I heard Lilly's voice inside my head. What did she mean by me acting like a kid? I was just slightly angry at her because she accepted that freak's offer. But on the other hand, if the freak hadn't taken us to the mall, I wouldn't have a chance to buy Lilly a present. It was priceless anyway.

"You should know that I love you all along. But you never put your trust in me." I heard Lilly's voice. Did I have my trust in her? Lilly said that I didn't have enough trust. Was I the one at fault? I shook my head to clear out these stuffs. There was no way I could be at fault! I was just trying to protect her from that freaking jolteon! She should not talk to me like that! I groaned as I could not make any decision.

"…she must be alone in the dark. If something comes, who will protect her?" Neon's words really knocked my sense back into me even though I was slightly annoyed. If I had to admit it, I was worried about Lilly if it was a little. I groaned in annoyance, not knowing what to do.

"Who cares about her anyway?" I muttered, lying to myself. The fact was that I cared about her. I was just muttering to myself just to make sure that my ironic will of not going after her didn't break apart. But it still worried me slightly. What if Neon's words were true? What if she was afraid? No…. she would be okay and I didn't care for her no matter what happened. Or did I care for her that I was slightly worried? I was at a lost in deciding what to do. Maybe I should go after her just to check if she was okay.

"This is only to check her situation, nothing more." I said to myself, making my ironic will stronger. I walked into the direction in which Lilly went off. It was surely dark in the forest but as a member of Forest Defenders, I should not be afraid of the forest, and Lilly should feel the same way. However, I felt that I had to go after her. After a while, I spotted a similar blue bracelet. It was the one I bought for Lilly. I tried not to be frustrated since Lilly had left her gift. She must felt really angry with me somehow. I took the bracelet and continued to track Lilly.

"Well, she's the one at fault." I muttered to myself. If she hadn't taken on Lightning's side, none of this would have happened. But then again, I would not be able to buy this bracelet. To admit it, I had to thank Lightning for this. I walked again, hoping to find Lilly. It was night, so there was no surprising that most pokemons were sleeping. My ears perked up as I heard someone sobbing. I walked closer to the sound's direction just to find Lilly, muttering to herself with a lot of tears falling from her eyes in a burrow. I hid myself behind a bush, close enough to hear her.

"That jerk, he only believes that he is the right one." She muttered and I scowled in annoyance.

"He just doesn't care about how I feel." She muttered and I blinked in surprise. Did I not care about her feelings? Of course, I cared for her but I just didn't think about how she felt.

"Does he even believe that I love him more than everything else?" she muttered and my eyes widened. Of course, I knew that she loved me. I was just jealous of Lightning, getting her attention.

"Or does he even love me?" she muttered. What was the matter with females' minds? They always doubted their males' love for them. I was just protecting her from that freak. I just had to talk to her about this.

"So is that how you think?" I said coldly, revealing myself. Lilly looked at me and then turned away from her. I approached her and sat next to her. I took out the bracelet from my mouth with my paw.

"So why do you care anyway?" she said, still sobbing a little.

"Well, I thought that I can pretend that I don't love you but I can't." I said and Lilly looked at me in confusion.

"That's because I love you." I said and she looked at me in confusion again. I grabbed her paw and put the bracelet around it. It fitted like before.

"What happened to you? You weren't like this before." She asked shyly and I pulled her into a hug.

"Why are you being so affectionate towards me in a sudden?" she sneered.

"I was just trying to show that I love you." I said and she smiled.

"I hope this would wipe your tears out." I continued. "I promise that I will let you tell me what I need."

Sometimes, I wasn't always the one who was right. Maybe she got a point. She was right that I didn't let correct my mistakes. I realized that only now.

"I am sorry about the things I said about you before." She said, not sobbing anymore and I smiled in satisfaction.

"Why am I always meeting romantic senses?" a familiar voice said and I turned around just to see the Oracle, giggling slightly. I removed my hug, assuming a serious look as I sensed that Oracle had a mission for me even though she didn't say it.

"Tell me about my mission."I said.

"There is an enemy attacking against the Cycling Gangs. The enemy is pretty strong and I can sense it. And we promised we will aid them. So I am asking you to aid them." She said calmly and I nodded.

"Can I take my friends with me?" I asked. The enemy seemed to be pretty strong so it was better to have more people in our group.

"You cannot take them. I asked Prophet to give Neon a quest which he has to do it by himself and Flare is not strong enough and Lilly is needed to keep her company." She said reasonably.

"Okay, I will go immediately." I said, heading towards the Cycling Road.

"Be careful, Gust." Lilly said and I nodded, giving her a lick in the cheek, showing my care for her. Then I ran off to aid our ally.


	18. An Awkward Vulpix

**Neon's POV**

"Can you tell me your name?" I asked the alazakam who claimed that he was Oracle's right hand man and that Oracle had a mission for me. Flare was hiding behind me. She must have thought that alazakam would attack us. I could see alazakam's shape clearly even in the middle of the night. There were many pokemons that possess clear visions at night but humans didn't have such vision.

"I will tell you your mission first." He said and I scowled. He ignored my last comment. What would happen if he had only told me his name? This annoyed me.

"Your mission is to cheer up someone and convince him to join our organization." He said and I groaned. He hadn't even told me his name yet and he was ordering me around. Why should I trust this mysterious alazakam that appeared out of nowhere? He was a just a psychic pokemon but I couldn't find the reason why he was holding two spoons, one in each hand.

"Can you cut the crap and tell me your name please?" I yelled but the alakazam remained indifferent.

"If you are insisting so much, my name is Prophet." He said finally.

"Prophet, you kind of piss me off." I said sincerely. He frowned which showed that he was annoyed. But he didn't show his anger at all. One good thing was that he didn't read my mind while Oracle did a lot.

"And now are you ready for your mission?" he said. I still had the necklace with me so I can return here anytime. But I didn't know whether I should trust this abnormal guy or not. He really sounded abnormal to me.

"You can trust him." A familiar voice said and I scanned the area quickly with my eyes just to see Oracle walking towards me and Lilly following behind. I guess Gust made up with her because she didn't seem to be sad anymore. I was glad to see that. At least, we didn't have one gloomy vaporeon anymore. Flare eventually walked towards Lilly just to whisper something into her ears which Lilly replied with a chuckle. I looked at her confusedly. What was Flare whispering into her ears? I really wanted to know. Was it something about me?

"Your friend, Neon, is wondering what Flare had whispered into your ear." Oracle said to Lilly.

"Well, she said that you had asked her if she wanted to be your mate." She said, chuckling slightly and my face turned red which was very intimidating. I noticed that Flare was also blushing.

"Why am I seeing these mushy stuffs lately?" Oracle said, shaking her head. "Prophet, can you teleport him to the location?"

"Yes, Oracle." Prophet said, bowing his head towards Oracle. As Prophet assumed his position, the surrounding around me changed immediately. I looked around just to see bushes surrounding me.

"First of all, this person is pretty wild. So you better observe him first." He said reasonably.

"Anyway, I think Lilly was more suited for this job. She is the best when it comes to social." I replied with an irritated shrug. Now that I started to think about it, Lilly would be more suitable for this time of mission since she could even convinced the leader of the Cycling Gang to form alliance with our organization even though I didn't know what species the leader was.

"Oracle said that you are responsible for whatever happened to that person. So she said that you had to clean up the mess you created." Prophet replied and I growled. What was Oracle thinking? How could I be responsible for this mess?

"Well, then I better go now." He said and disappeared. He didn't even tell me where I was. I growled as I didn't even know where I was carrying out my mission. I sometimes couldn't understand how psychic pokemons were. But I crouched in the bushes just to spy what was there. I could only see a vulpix which appeared to be about my age, judging from the looks. But it had bruises and cuts all over its body. Someone must have tortured it, causing it a lot of pain.

"That vulpix who framed me shall die." It muttered in a male voice. Now I can determine that he was a male. He was panting as if he was exhausted. I guess that he had just been tortured not along ago. Some of his wounds were still bleeding. He walked farther more and I followed him secretly, not wanting to give out my location. He arrived in front of a stream. He lowered his neck just to drink water. I was informed by Prophet that I was somehow responsible for his injuries or something else but I didn't know how I could be responsible.

A rattata walked into the scene and took a battle pose as soon as he saw the vulpix.

"What're you doing in my territory?" it snarled in a male voice and the vulpix remained indifferent.

"So what do you want?" he replied with a scowl.

"Well, I want you to leave." The rattata snapped and the vulpix then lunged towards rattata, grabbing his neck with his paw. He then lifted him up in the air, leaving the poor creature to yelp as he had lost his breath. That vulpix really was cruel.

"I can't breathe…" The rattata said, struggling to be free.

"Run now and never come back." The vulpix snarled as he dropped the rattata to the ground. The poor rattata, scared out of its wits, ran away hastily. But how could he move with those bruises of his? I just couldn't find an answer to this.

"Annoying creature." He said himself as he lied down and closed his eyes. This was getting pretty boring but I had decided that I would have to observe him for a day since I had to know more about him which would give a better chance to convince him. And he would really attack me if I walked out there now. Even for the same species, he was really wild. And I wondered who framed him and what had happened to him in the past. But as I was the same species, I somehow felt sorry for him. I broke a twig accidently which made a sound and I gasped as I was afraid that he might find me out. Luckily, he just stayed there. I guess he was asleep.

I then groomed my fur since I got nothing to do at the moment. This kind of bored me though. But I had to keep up with this.

I crept quietly to where he was resting. I waved my paw in front of his eyes just to confirm whether he was asleep or not. He was asleep, at least for now. I crept to the stream and drank water. I was thirsty and I needed water, too. I just hoped that vulpix would not wait up. No sooner had I finished drinking water than I crept back in the bushes, hiding myself. I needed to sleep. It was dawn and I haven't slept the whole night. When I was about to sleep, that creepy alazakam woke me up with psychic which in turn woke Flare who was sleeping besides me. And why did Oracle give me a mission in the middle of 

night? Then what about rattata? What was he doing out of his territory in the middle of the night which let the vulpix take over? I cleared out of these thoughts as I lied down, going to sleep eventually.


	19. A Game of Violence

Gust's POV

It was the dawn by the time I arrived at the building which appeared to lead to the cycling road. There were a sign, and the door was sealed with some banners. But I could cut through it easily. The banners tore apart as my razor leaves cut them. I smirked as I knew that opening the door was no problem. I tested the door with my paw. The door was somehow pretty weak which meant that my Leaf Blade would do the trick to burst the door open. My tail glowed green as I hit the door with it, sending the door, flying backwards. The screws were loose, too. There were a lot of pokemons, lying unconscious on the floor and pools of blood, too. They must be from the Cycling Gangs. The place was like a graveyard. It was recently perfect a few days ago. Just what happened to this place? I approached the nearest pokemon which appeared to be a spearow. It had deep cuts in the stomach which were still bleeding, showing the incident was recent and I examined the wound, which appeared to be not from claws but something sharp. The damage was very fatal, revealing the skin which was underneath the feathers. I wondered who was responsible for this but could not find an answer. I frowned because of this unpleasant sight but then I ran as quickly as possible. All I knew was that I would have to stop whoever caused this. I made it outside of a building just to see more unconscious pokemons and pools of blood but there were two pokemons, acting like they were about to battle. One was a fearow and the other was a mime.jr.

"You may defeat my underlings but you will never defeat me, Yo-yo Boy." The fearow sneered while the mime.jr seemed to be pretty cheerful. I guess the fearow was Aero, the leader of Cycling Gangs and the mime.jr must be the enemy that Oracle was talking about. But how could a mime.jr because all these mess? I looked carefully and noticed that it was wearing a pair of green gloves. He had two yo-yos one in each hand, with the loop around the paw. And it must be a male since it was called Yo-yo Boy.

"You may defeat my underlings but you will never defeat me." It mocked cheerfully. He was still a kid, determining from the voice. But how could he fight all of these pokemons? And who taught him to fight?

"I hate to be mocked by someone!" Aero snapped but Yo-yo Boy was singing happily as he danced.

"And I don't like mimicking an idiot." Yo-yo sang happily and Aero growled.

"There are three cycling roads, one in Sinnoh, another in Hoenn and lately in Kanto. The group on each road decided that they should join to form an organization. Since it was three groups, our organization was named the Cycling Gangs. We used the 'Gangs' instead of 'Gang'. The organization has three leaders, one leader in each branch." Aero said seriously while Yo-yo Boy was still singing.

"And as the leader of the Kanto Branch, I shall defeat you!" he said as he flew towards Yo-yo Boy. His beak glowed and emerged to be longer. He then tried to peck Yo-yo Boy who dodged it by dancing. He jumped and started to swing his yo-yos recklessly but the yo-yos did not become loose. Aero dodged the yo-yos in the air.

"Playing like this makes me happy." The small clown said cheerfully. What was with him, using yo-yos as a weapon? I could easily beat that. So I charged forwards, releasing razor leaves towards him but deflected as a screen appeared in the way.

"You thought you could attack me off guard, didn't you?" he said cheerfully and I blinked in surprise. How did he form a Light Screen so quickly? He got suddenly hit by the glowing wings of Aero which sent him, flying.

"You are from the Forest Defenders, aren't you? I guess Oracle kept her promise." Aero said, giving me a grin and I nodded.

"You got a point for making damage on me." The clown said happily as he got on his feet. He was smiling too.

"Then I won't disappoint you." He said happily. His yo-yo were completely wound up and ready to swing again. Was he a yo-yo master or something? He dashed towards me and I took a defensive pose. He jumped and swung one of his yo-yo at me. I dodged it but it hit my hind limbs, forming a cut causing me to wince in pain as the blood ran out slightly. How did a yo-yo cut the skin? Yo-yo boy then smiled and then slammed his body against mine, throwing me backwards. He wound up his yo-yo in the blink of the eye which was unbelievable. He launched the yo-yo towards me again which I dodged it with success. Aero wanted to take this opportunity to do a second attack. His wings glowed as he flew down, charging at Yo-yo Boy. Yo-yo boy never stopped smiling. He launched yo-yo at him, catching Aero by the chest in surprise, causing him to scream in pain. The yo-yo did not stop but kept on spinning in Aero's chest, causing him to lose feathers, forming a very deep cut. The effect was similar to a drill piercing the ground which caused the ground to shatter more. I lunged myself towards him but he swung his yo-yo so I had to dodge it. These two yo-yos were somehow deadly. I heard Aero, scream in pain as the cut went deeper into the revealed skin. If a yo-yo had spin that long, it might be impossible to wind up but he somehow did it. I couldn't believe my eyes. Aero dropped to the group, unconscious.

"What the hell is wrong with those yo-yos?" I asked with intense anger tone. Yo-yo Boy stared at me like a confused kid, causing me to growl. He was acting like he was just an innocent little kid which made me angry even more.

"A normal Yo-yo cannot cut skin but yours can. How? Answer me!"I demanded with anger, baring my teeth.

"This, Leafeon, is so demanding." He said cheerfully with a smile. Why was he always cheerful even during the fight?

"I guess I will have to tell you. Look." He said cheerfully again and held out one of his yo-yos. I looked carefully and found that both of its edges were steel-bladed. My eyes widened as I noticed this. He was using steel-bladed Yo-yos all along.

"You noticed it, didn't you? Yep, it is steel-bladed and that's why it is sharp. And furthermore, the steel is of very good quality, obtained from a Steelix's skin." He said, smiling like a kid while I remained shocked. Steelixs were enormous creatures. Even trying to defeat one was difficult.

"You might want to know why it didn't harm my paw. It was because of these gloves which were made of Tyranitar skin. These yo-yos and gloves are gifts to me from our leader. I am very happy to use them." He said cheerfully again but I remained shocked. Tyranitars were almost as tough as a legendary. I didn't know who his leader was but he seemed to be pretty strong, judging from the gifts.

"Just how old are you?" I yelled. He had to be old enough to use such deadly weapons. I just couldn't believe what I was seeing.

"Seven months." He said cheerfully and I felt angry flowing through my mind since I really despised the leader of his group. There was nothing worse than giving a kid these deadly weapons. He was a kid and wasn't even mature yet. I growled, baring my teeth, showing my anger.

"You are still a kid! You shouldn't play with dangerous things!" I snarled while Yo-yo Boy was looking at me like a confused kid again. Then he immediately became cheerful.

"They are not dangerous. They are just toys I play with." He said cheerfully.

"What!" I snapped. They were not toys. They were weapons. What the hell was he thinking?

"You see, toys are supposed to be played with. I started playing yo-yo when I was three months. Our leader offered me these two special yo-yos and gloves since I was the best yo-yo player. So it is my duty to play." He said cheerfully which made me blasted. I took a battle pose and growled, baring my teeth.

"I see. You, too, don't want this fun to be over. Let's play again." He said, smiling. I had to win this guy somehow.


	20. Unusual Strength

**Heat's POV**

I gave out a loud yawn as I woke up. My mood hadn't been clear yet. That stupid rattata made me more moody. Anyhow, I wanted to rest peacefully. These cuts hurt me like hell. Those stupid humans shall pay for my injury, pain and suffer. And most important of all, that imposer vulpix shall die. He framed me while I didn't know anything at all. I groaned as I felt angrier as my thought became deeper and deeper. So I washed my face in water, just to feel better. I shook my head, drying myself. My ear twitched as I heard someone snoring. I turned around to look at the direction of the sound. The source of the snoring sound was from behind the bush. I approached to study the source. It was just another vulpix with a scar across its right eyes, sleeping soundly. But I didn't want to see anyone right now so I turned around, walking away. I heard the sudden sound of yawning, so I turned around just to see the vulpix, waking up.

"What a nice sleep." It muttered in a male voice. I frowned as it annoyed me. I really didn't want some company now so I took up a battle pose.

"Get out of my sight!" I snarled, causing the vulpix to stare at me in confusion. I bared my teeth just to scare him off without success. I got an annoyed look in return.

"I know what your problem is. You are very unsociable and wild, snarling at the innocent trespasser even when he is of the same kind." He mocked and I growled in anger.

"I told you to go away, not to lecture me!" I yelled with anger but he didn't seem to scare at all.

"You need to relax." He comforted me but I didn't care. I lunged towards him, trying to bite him but failed as he dodged it. I shot a fireball, estimating the place he would be. It hit but he didn't seem to suffer from anything.

"You should know that vulpixs have Flash-Fire ability." He mocked but he was right. Fire would only boost him up. I growled, realizing my mistake. I lunged towards him again, trying to bite him. But he only dodged it. I was panting but he seemed like he wasn't tired at all.

"Anger won't solve a thing." He said and I charged at him again. This time, I tried a head butt but he retaliated with the similar moved. There was a contest of strength. Both of us were pushing the other backwards.

"I will win for sure." I muttered determinedly. He did not flinch but muttered my word back.

"Not if I tried my best." He muttered back. There was no reveal in the difference of our strength. Both of us were grunting as we were trying to take each other down. I added more strength so he was slightly force backwards. But he, too, added more force in pushing me back. Neither of us was beating another. He grunted, pushing me backwards more. I was forced to make a step backwards. He really was stronger but I pushed him with stronger force. He then suddenly retreated backwards which made me fall forwards due to my own force. He then pressed his paws on my shoulders.

"I have pinned you." He said happily and I growled in anger. I struggled to get up but did not work.

"Let me up!" I snapped but he did not.

"No way." He sat down on my back quickly, not letting me move.

"Get up!" I snapped but he shook his head. I used all of my strength but did not work.

"Would you please get up?" I groaned but he whistled, ignoring me. He pissed me off. Then the rattata I scared yesterday came into the scene which made me growled more. He became suddenly happy when he saw me grounded by that stupid vulpix which a hideous scar across his right eye.

"Thanks a bunch whoever you are. This vulpix needs a lesson." He said and I growled. He stood face to face with the vulpix above me.

"I saw the whole thing yesterday. Well, if I have to tell you who's at fault from my point of view, you shouldn't have snarled first." He said, pointing out rattata's mistake but angrier since I found out that he was spying on me. If I had to tell from my point of view, he shouldn't have spied on me. I groaned in anger for knowing this. But the vulpix pressed his paw on my back violently and I winced in pain.

"Well, I was just a little over protective of my territory." The rattata apologized, bowing his head.

"He shouldn't wring your neck which made him violent." the vulpix said, staring at the rattata. I would just give him the taste of pain if my movement were not sealed.

"Anyway, ask me anything if you need help." The rattata said, bowing his head again and then off he ran.

"It always brings me pleasure to help someone." The vulpix said, signing.

"Well, if you enjoy helping other, let me up!" I snapped but he let out a big yawn.

"You see, I am helping you here." He said, cheerfully and I groaned in anger. He was sealing my movement instead of helping me. I struggled to be free but it was no use. I closed my eyes in disappointment.

"Fine! Have it your own way." I muttered but he didn't seem to be listening to me at all since he started to whistle. There was a pause in our conversation. I had given up in the process of regaining my movements again while he was scratching his own ears with his hind limb.

"Don't do that. You will spread your dirt on me." I said indifferently. He stopped, obeying my word. But he never got off me.

"Well, I've stopped scratching since you ask me. So I will ask you some questions that you have to answer sincerely." He said.

"Whatever." I replied in an irritated tone.

"First of all, what's your name?" he said.

"Heat," I said in annoyed tone. Who did he think he was to ask me questions? He was so despicable to me.

"Mine's Neon." He said politely and I frowned. Who said that I wanted to know his name? That idiot shall pay once I regained my movement. So he better not released me because I was going to torture him.

"I heard that a vulpix framed you for something. Can you tell me who it is?" he asked me.

"Why should I tell you about it?" I answered angrily. This was surely a pain in the neck with a curious vulpix on my back. This was going to be a long day.


	21. Gust's Promise

**Gust's POV**

I just had to circle and dodge that insane clown's attacks. His yo-yo had caught my back for the second time. The wound were bleeding and hurting me like hell. But I didn't give up. I shot some razor leaves from afar but those didn't work. If long range attacks didn't work, I just had to try melee attacks. I encouraged myself just to withstand the pain. I ran quickly towards him, dodging every attack towards me.

"Take this and this! This is fun." Yo-yo Boy laughed as he swung his yo-yos one after another but I focused on getting him from behind. So I used Quick Attack just to sneak up from behind. It was a success. My tail glowed green as I struck it against his back which threw him violently across the ground. But he didn't wince or scream.

"How's that, you devil!" I sneered in a success tone. He slowly got up. He was smiling as usual which made me shocked. What was with him? Even my powerful attack didn't work.

"You forgot about my Filter ability." He said cheerfully and I blinked in surprise.

"Filter ability, the ability that halved the damage of the attack that I am weak against. It was not enough for knock me out." He said cheerfully, making me bare my teeth occasionally. I had no choice but to heal my injuries first. Luckily, the sun was strong enough for me to use Synthesis. My body glowed, healing my injuries.

"Not bad. Leafeon knows how to heal himself. This is gonna be great." The clown shouted and I growled. I hoped that just one or two more hits can bring him down. But he knew my tactics already, so how would I do that? And my wounds were not entirely healed and my feet were trembling. I just had to focus like before to strike him. But there was something wrong with Yo-yo Boy. Why didn't he even mimic my act?

"Got ya!" He said and I screamed in pain as his weapon hit my cheek, making a deep cut and sending me sprawling backwards. I shouldn't have been lost in my thoughts. This was a battle and being distracted meant easy to defeat. The cut appeared to be pretty deep and it was bleeding so much. I growled and then used Synthesis. There was a disturbance in m healing as the he swung his yo-yo forward me again which I had to cut my healing and dodge. My cut stopped bleeding but it still stung me. I was too tired to use Quick Attack also. Just how strong this clown was?

"Here's a present for you!" Yo-yo Boy said cheerfully and jumped very high causing me to stare at him in disbelief. He launched his yo-yo towards my back which I was too slow to dodge. So the yo-yo hit my back and kept on spinning around causing me to scream in pain. This was how he defeated Aero. Although the spinning didn't take much time since Yo-yo Boy landed on the ground, the wound was deeper than the other. I collapsed to the ground, breathing hard. I still had my consciousness even though I was lying helplessly on the ground. Memories about my past slowly flashed before me.

* * *

When I was young, I was just an eevee of a ruined temple. There were only three of us live, an old Glaceon named Winter, another female white eevee named Floret and me. The Glaceon was our master and caretaker. He always praised Floret but never praise me and I did not care either. He always scolded me for being wild and nasty. But I still had to thank that old man since he kept us alive. We were orphans and he took care of us like his children. Floret and I were not siblings either but I still saw her as my sister.

* * *

Yo-yo Boy stepped one of his feet on my face.

"You are still conscious, aren't you?" he asked cheerfully. "Get up and fight!"

* * *

But my past memories were still flashing before me. I was lying down on the meadow with my back against the ground and a small stick in my mouth which I didn't hold anymore. The young eevee was gazing at the clear blue sky. Floret approached and I raised an eyebrow at her.

"What are you doing here?" she asked cutely, looking over me.

"It is none of your business, Floret." I answered irritably. Her eyes and face suddenly drooped down.

"What's wrong?" I asked in an annoyed tone.

"Why do you always have to be this wild? No wonder Winter scold you a lot." She said but I still didn't care.

"Sit down." I said and she obeyed. She sat down beside me and I remained indifferent, showing a grin.

"Do you know what is it out there?" I asked, and she nodded.

"A lot of people and many different places we've never been to." She said.

"Well, there are a lot of people indeed. Someday I am going to be renowned as the strongest and nastiest eon ever." I told her my dream which I still hadn't succeeded yet. She burst out laughing, rolling on the floor, putting her paws on her chest.

"What's so funny?" I asked in annoyed tone, slowly getting up.

"Just what eon are you gonna be?" she asked, still laughin.

"Any eon is possible except a glaceon like Winter." I said, praising myself.

"I hope you can be." She said, breaking up her laugh while I gave her a satisfied smile.

"I will be and I can give you my word." I said.

* * *

That was the promise I made but right now, I was weaker than a Mime Jr. I still got a long road to go. Mime Jr walked away from me.

"I really don't like weaklings." Yo-yo Boy muttered, not knowing what to do. I slowly got up on my feet with my legs trembling. It was true that I couldn't beat him in this state but however, I had a feeling that I had to try if I wanted to the strongest eon, I had to beat him. I walked towards him shakily at very slow speed.

"You never give up, do you? I guess I will have to make you faint." He said cheerfully, throwing a yo-yo at me. My eyes narrowed as it was coming forward. I closed my eyes, knowing that it would hit me. I heard a sound and opened my eyes again. It didn't hit me instead it was repelled. I was surprised to see Oracle in front of me.

"I never want to involve in battles but it looks like I have no choice." She demanded but Yo-yo Boy smiled and took a battle pose. But he was psychically thrown backwards by Oracle causing him to wince in pain.

"You are strong which makes this game more fun." He said happily. He was about swing his yo-yo forwards but stopped by the appearance of a ghost pokemon, banette, in front of him.

"We don't need this stupid road anymore. We have found a better place." It said in a male tone. Who was he? Oracle didn't seem to be surprise at all by the looks of her. The banette turned around to look at Oracle and gave a sinister smile.

"You must be the one they called Oracle. Nice to meet you." He greeted Oracle.

"I am Terror but I am afraid that I had to leave now. So bye." He said and disappeared along with Yo-yo Boy. I collapsed to the ground once more, being very weak. Soon darkness fell over my vision.


	22. Admiration

**Heat's POV**

This had really been taking long and I really couldn't bear it. How long was this Neon guy going to sit on me? I just couldn't bear it. What did he think he was anyway? I would beat the crap out of him if he got off me. He couldn't stay there forever…, could he? I could do nothing but sprawled on the ground with him on my back.

"Hey, are you going to attack me if I got off from your back?" he said.

"I was just thinking about doing it." I admitted irritably.

"Will you promise me not to?" he said. I probably couldn't understand such strange guy. Why should I give him my words?

"No way!" I yelled.

"Well, you see if I were to search for some food, I would have to get off. But first I need to know whether you will attack me or not. You are too aggressive for a vulpix and you should know that." He said, causing me growl slightly.

"Do whatever you want!" I yelled in reply.

"Your promise?" he said, causing me to growl. He was probably hungry and I didn't want to lose this chance of getting rid of him.

"Fine, just get off!" I said irritably. Of course, I was going to attack him afterwards. What the hell he thought that I was? But without saying a word, he got off me and ran as fast as he could before I even got up. My feet were slightly numb, thanks to that idiot.

"Wait! You idiot!" I shouted, running after him. I could see him at a distance from me. He surely could run very fast. But I had to keep my pace so that I could catch up with me.

"Why should I?" he yelled back which made me angrier than before. He really should know the reason. This pissed me off. If I could ever lay my paw on that Neon, I would beat him to death! I speeded up just to catch him on. But he suddenly stopped in front of some berry bushes with many small pink berries growing in it. I had to brake myself not to collide with that stupid vulpix!

"Why did you stop?" I asked, feeling awkward.

"These berries look delicious."Neon said as he plucked a berry for himself to eat. Only then I noticed that he was wearing a necklace too.

"So that is your reason!" I said, raising my eyebrow and grinning in annoyance. He blinked his eyes at him with his mouth, full. How could this guy be so clam even after I was going to hurt him?

"Why do you have to be so calm?" I yelled. His reaction was to swallow his food and closed his eyes.

"Same goes for you. Why do you have to so aggressive and mean?" he replied indifferently, giving me a serious glare. The scar across his right eye made his glare scarier. Just I grunted and bared my teeth, his face suddenly changed.

"That's not the problem now. You must be hungry too. So help yourself." He said, smiling. I felt slightly annoyed by him. The truth was that I hadn't eaten since those bums kicked me out of the base! But I just didn't want to admit it.

"You cannot tell me what to do." I said, turning away from him. He plucked another berry and put it in his mouth. My stomach growled, admitting that I was hungry.

"I could see that you are not hungry. Maybe I should eat all of these berries." He said sarcastically and I slightly growl. He chewed on his berry delightfully which made me hungrier just by looking at it. My stomach growled again.

"That's nothing. I got a stomach problem." I said, refusing that I was hungry, causing him to chuckle. He plucked a berry and handed it to me.

"Take it. These berries are really sweet, totally different from the Persim berries I eat before." He said, giving me a smile. I couldn't possibly be arguing anymore. Why was he so kind to me even after all I tried to hurt him? I took the berry without a word, gradually putting it into my mouth. It was sweet and soft which made it easy to chew. Judging from the taste, I once knew that it was Pecha berry.

"Good, isn't it?" Neon asked which I answered with a nod. I plucked one more just to fill my stomach. Why did he have to be so generous and hospitable? I couldn't understand this fool at all. Neon had stopped eating. He had lied down just to rest himself which I joined him soon after I ate my third berry. Somehow my anger had gone, thanks to this idiot.

"So tell me about whom you sworn to hunt down. What did he ever do to you?" he asked again which caused me to frown just by thinking about it.

"I just want to kill that bastard and I don't want any interference." I said, in annoyed tone.

"Why do you want to kill him so much?" he asked again and I didn't answer.

"I will not mess with anything personal since everyone has something important in their minds that they would never speak off. They would try to hide that truth forever but probably fail. Even I failed probably because of a mind-reading freak but I didn't blame her anyway. I just have to hope that she won't spread this out to the whole world even though I know that my friends will somehow know this someday. You can't keep a fire with a paper forever no matter how hard you try. But it would be best to hide it if you can since it could make you cry." Neon said, gazing into the sky. The expression on his face changed suddenly. He became sadden. He must be thinking about something nostalgic to him.

"Anyhow, about that mind-reading freak earlier, she is the leader of our organization, called the Forest Defenders. Would you care to join it?" he asked with a smile.

"I will think about it and give you an answer this evening." I said sincerely. It was noon now and I should start to think about it now. What should I do? There was nothing to do at the moment but should I really join this organization? Will it do me good?

"What does this organization stand for?" I turned around and asked but only saw a sleeping vulpix.

"Idiot," I muttered, but smiling. I admired his courage and kindness. He was not afraid even when he knew that I would attack. He just stayed calm even though I was talking to him in annoyed tone. He offered me a berry, knowing that I was hungry which showed his compassion.

"Come here, Heat." I heard a hissing sound. I scanned around the area and saw that annoying rattata a few feet away from me.

"You again! You are starting to piss me off." I sneered but the rattata didn't even flinch. He had an evil face. There was something wrong with him. Not only did he have that evil and mean face but also gleaming black eyes. His approach towards me gave me shivers.

"Get away from me!" I yelled, taking a battle position. Neon was still asleep. Was that idiot deaf!?

"I will tell you something so come here." He said. "This will surely satisfy you."

I groaned. Should I trust this freak? I was being puzzled at what to do. I calmed down myself and decided that I would listen to what he had to say.


	23. An Evolution

**A.N: Sorry for a little delay. However, I promise that I will write until this story is finished. Furthermore, I want to thank Damon Howe, Wild Ice Dragon18, sasusaku-rulez-2001 and Abbodon for reviews. Please read this chapter and review.**

**Neon's POV**

When I woke up, Heat was gone for long. He really should be nice and not attack anyone he saw. I still didn't know anything about the vulpix he talked. But I should not mess with his personal information. But I still didn't know the reason why he had to be my responsible. It just didn't make any sense. Was I the vulpix he was muttering about? That was nonsense. I didn't do anything bad on him since I didn't like giving trouble to innocent people. I got up and plucked a berry again to eat. These berries surely were good if I only knew what kind.

"You there!" I heard Heat's voice so I turned around. It indeed was heat but there was something wrong with him. He was baring his teeth and frowning angrily. His eyes were red like fire which meant that he was angry and I had to stay alert.

"So what took you so long? Cat got your tongue?" I said, smirking.

"There is no time to be joking around, Neon! Let end this!" he replied, lunging towards which I rolled and dodged it. He surely was outraged. His eyes showed that.

"Are you alright Heat?" I asked, sounding alarmed. Of course, he was not alright.

"You, the one who used my name, my existence, shall die!!" he said, lunging forwards with his mouth opened, showing his fangs. I jerked out of the way, dodging the attack again. He was tough, simply because he was outraged. But what did he meant by I used his name?

"Heat, tell me the truth! What happened?" I yelled but he didn't care. He charged towards me again. This time, he was going to scratch me in the face. I could see that so I rolled to the side to dodge it. He then ran and tackled me with his side, making me lose my balance and fell. He pinned me to the ground, making an attempt to bite my neck. I released some confused rays from my eyes. Luckily, I had perfected this move within hours. It was working since he immediately became dizzy which I could assume by the look. I gave him a head butt in the stomach. I suddenly remembered about my medallion. I pressed the sapphire and closed my eyes. I had no choice but to leave Heat behind. The surrounding around me changed, and I arrived back in the clearing.

"You okay?" Flare asked me, as she walked near me. I was kind of surprised that she didn't show any signs of fear to my sudden appearance.

"Yeah," I panted in slight exhaustion as a small of amount of fear was overwhelming my mind. What happened to Heat? He and I were talking just fine but he changed in just an instant. I wondered why? Who caused him to become outrage?

"I see that you are slight exhausted. Why don't you take a bath with me?" Flare suggested.

"I will do just that." I replied, following her to the stream. She was not having a bath but just relaxing by the flow of the scream while I was cleaning my whole body. Heat really was something that time. In that rate, I could not possibly seal his movements like the way I did before. Just what did I do to upset him? I was not his enemy.

"Neon, look!" Flare said, pointing at a shiny golden stone, with a flame engulfed in it, flowing along with the water. It was heading towards us. I knew once what was it! It was a Fire Stone, the thing that could change a fire pokemon's life forever by evolution. We, vulpixs, were included in that. Only those, who wanted to evolve, would touch it. My master once showed me a Fire Stone, but he never used it on me. I got out of the water. I didn't have to get out but it was to ensure that I did not touch it. I still didn't think that both of us were ready to evolve.

"Flare, don't touch that stone." I warned her but she was lost in this glittering and shiny appearance to hear my warning. The stone was now right in front of her now. I expect that she was going to touch it in curiousity since it was the first time for her to see these things. So I shoved her to the other side. My body glowed as the stone touched my paw and the shape started to shift. I wasn't afraid since I was ready to face the consequences. I started to feel another three tails emerging from my body. After a few seconds, my body stopped glowing. I looked down the stream just to see my new reflection. I had completely changed into a ninetales. My body was larger and my fur was cream color instead of the usual orange. All of my parts were completely different from what they used to be. And I had three more extra tails and all the tip of the tails were slight orange. I still had that scar across my right eye. The stone's light dimmed down and it continued to flow along the stream. I walked away shakily, still not adjusted to my new form which caused Flare to look at me worriedly.

"I am alright, Flared. No need to worry about me." I comforted, sitting down. But Flare broke into tears as she walked and buried her head in my chest, causing me to stare at her in confusion.

"Why are you crying?" I asked, sincerely wanted to know the reason.

"….because you have evolved for my sake. If I didn't get interested in the stone and move away, you wouldn't have to evolve…" she said, sobbing. I didn't blame her but why was she blaming herself? Maybe she did not want me to be a ninetales but remained as a vulpix. I didn't want to evolve either but I needed to comfort her first.

"What's wrong with it? I am alright and that's all matter." I replied, with a warm smile.

"Are you really okay with that form?" she asked, still sobbing. I put arm around her, giving her a hug.

"Yeah, I am okay as long as I am with you." I said, giving her a soothing smile. My hand was shaking which meant that I wasn't fully adjusted to my new body yet. But I ran my paw down her back, stroking her tail. It was just to show her a sign not to worry about me.

"Gust!" I suddenly heard Lilly's scream. Flare separated from me just to run towards where the voice from. I slowly got up to run in the same direction.

After a while, I saw Lilly and Oracle discussing with each other while Gust was lying on the ground, unconscious.


	24. A Lesson from the Past

**Gust's POV**

I was in a pitch black room. Where was I? No one could tell me about it but I knew that I was dreaming. All I knew was that Oracle saved me from that crazy clown and I was beaten.

"Gust, wait for me." I heard a familiar voice from behind. I turned around just to see Floret running after me. I stopped for to catch up with me but to my surprise, she passed through me. My eyes followed her and I could see a young eevee who was supposed me back then. Surprisingly, I was no longer in the black room, but where I used to live. I was seeing my own past. Floret caught with the younger me and he scowled.

"You are slow as usual, Floret." He said, making a grunting sound which caused Floret to droop down her face and ears. She really was a soft-hearted girl, who would feel sad if someone's anger was pointed towards her. She would not stop feeling guilty about it.

"Come on. That old brat is waiting for us for a meeting. Let's go!" the younger version of me said and both of them walked into the temple which I followed. An old-looking glaceon was waiting for the other two eevees.

"What do you need for us, Grandpa Winter?" Floret said, bowing her head while the other eevee was acting like he didn't care at all. The glaceon shook his head in disappointment and signed.

"Gust, you never learn." He said with disappointment and the eevee growled slightly.

"You are wild and never try not to be." He said with a demanding sound.

"So what!" the eevee replied rudely, which in turn caused Winter to growl.

"This is the exact reason why I called you two here. And it seems like the only one I need to tell is you. You may go now, Floret." He said. Floret leapt happily out of the room while the younger version of me remained with an angry face. It was all a laughing matter now.

"Come with me, Gust." The old Glaceon said wisely, leading the young eevee out. The eevee remained indifferent for the time being. I followed them, wanting to find out more about these memories. They went to berry bushes with many different kinds of berries. Glaceon plucked a small orange berry and handed it to the eevee causing the eevee to stare at him in confusion.

"What's this ugly berry, Gramps?" he asked rudely but this time, Winter remained calm. I didn't have these memories anymore. I wondered what made me dream of these in all a sudden. I just couldn't find the answer to this puzzle.

"This is a Petaya Berry. Try it." The Glaceon said indifferently, causing the eevee to grunt in annoyance. But nevertheless, he ate it, which caused him to scowl in disguise. He immediately spitted the berry but the old one remained indifferent.

"This stuff tastes awful!! What're you trying to do? Kill me?" the eevee snarled but the ice pokemon smirked.

"It is awful. But try this one." He said, handing out a small pink berry with some leaves on it. The eevee once took it again and chewed it. This time, he smiled. He did not spit the berry but instead, he ate it to the end.

"Sweet isn't it?" the glaceon said and the eevee nodded in agreement. He was giving me a lesson but what was the lesson? I had to admit that I had completely forgotten about these.

"Both berries I gave you are just small one. Their taste will intensify as they grow larger. The Petaya berry will taste more awful as it grows. But this theory applies to the Pecha berry, too. The Pecha berry will taste sweeter." He said, causing the eevee to give him a confused look.

"What does this have to do with me?" the eevee replied irritably. The glaceon once again shook again in disappointment.

"You see, the Petaya berry is an example for you. You are wild and hostile now which means that you will become wilder and more hostile as you grows more. Petaya berries are discarded by most people because of their taste. You will never get friends or help if you act like this. So you should change yourself when you still got time." The glaceon pointed out wildly which caused the eevee to growl.

"Gramps, let me tell you something! The taste of Petaya berry can't be changed, can it? Well, my nature is tied to my bones so I can't change myself as well." The younger version of me sneered and ran out of the old glaceon and my sight. Glaceon shook his head in disappointment and signed.

"You cannot change someone easily." He muttered to himself. I really felt sorry for doing that to Winter. I shouldn't have ignored him back then.

"Have you changed yourself now, Gust?" The old man asked, turning his face towards making me to widen my eyes in surprised. I thought that I was completely invisible to them. But he saw me.

"What do you mean?" I asked, still shocked from the fact. Winter chuckled and walked towards me. He put his paw on my forehead and petted me.

"You have really grown, Gust. But you are still the same as always." He said, smirking, causing me to tilt my head at me.

"I assume that you have a mate now, haven't you?" he said, chuckling more.

"How did you know?" I asked in surprise.

"I would be a fool if I don't know about you. Anyhow, you should consider about what I just lectured." He said, chuckling even more. He sure could laugh a lot for an old glaceon.

"Now time to wake up!" he said, closing my eyes with his paws tightly.

I opened my eyes, dazing slightly. My vision was blurring slightly before it could turn back to normal. Lilly was nestling against my neck. I slowly got up, without interrupting her sleep. My cuts and wounds had all gone and I was as good as new. I wondered what had happened after I lost my consciousness. But I was surprised to see a Ninetales asleep, cuddling with Flare. I assumed that it was Neon since he was cuddling with Flare. He must have evolved but I didn't see any Fire Stone nearby. But why did I have these strange dreams? I washed my face in the stream but still thinking about my strange weird dreams. I licked my paw, grooming my fur.

"I never thought that my mate would be up so early." I heard Lilly's voice from behind. She slowly walked and sat beside me, nuzzling my neck affectionately.

"I am surprised to see you this morning, too. How long was I unconscious?" I asked.

"For a day." She said and I blinked in surprise. But how did I faint that long if I didn't have any cuts? Maybe it was due to my lack of energy.

"But don't worry, you will be fine." She said and licked my cheek. I smiled and returned her a lick. Something was strange about me to have those dreams. I must later find it out by myself.


	25. The Strange Group

**Heat's POV**

I walked along with the rattata. That bastard Neon managed to escape somehow but the rattata's eyes haven't changed yet. He said he was leading me to the base. I wondered what the rat was planning to do but it didn't matter anyway. We reached a building which made me growl as I recognized it as the Rocket Base I was from.

"What's the meaning of this?" I snapped at the rattata who was flicking his tail dismissively. His black eyes gleamed brighter as he approached the building. The door opened automatically as he approached it. Most rockets were dead and the inside was completely destroyed. A marowak stood in the corridor, with his bone over his shoulder.

"So this is the so-called newcomer." It said in a dismissive way in a male tone which I returned with an indifferent stare.

"Where am I? What's going on?" the rattata said, staring at the dead bodies in horror. His eyes were normal again and the emotionless look on his face had disappeared. He then stared at the marowak in horror who returned with a sinister grin.

"Don't worry. You won't know anything about this." He said then dashed towards the rattata with a very high speed. He passed through the rattata with a slashing sound and then stopped. The bone he was holding was now covered in blood and to my surprise, a very deep cut appeared horizontally across the rattata's side. Blood gushed out and the rattata fell down to the side, with lifeless eyes, unmistakably dead. I was rather terrified by this. The rockets were meant to be killed but the rattata was still innocent, compared with the rockets' torture on me.

"He's just a trash and trashes like him should be discarded." The marowak said harshly, while I remained shocked from the incident.

"Excuse me, vulpix. Let me introduce myself. My name's Smasher." He continued coldly. I gulped, starting to be frightened of him. He was not a normal marowak. I could tell that from his cold heartless brown eyes, giving me a creepy stare.

"That's not very nice to treat our new comrade, Smasher." A banette appeared in front of me and I jerked as the sudden appearance of him.

"Sorry for my rudeness. My name's Terror, nice to meet you." It said in a male tone. Terror seemed to be nicer than Smasher, but he was still a weirdo to me.

"The boss's calling a meeting." A cold female voice said, and then I saw a mismagius.

"Miss Pain, it is rare for you to meet a new member." Smasher said in a dismissive way which the female ghost returned with a growl.

"Anyway, the boss's waiting. Let's go." She said coldly and showed me a sign to follow her. The others disappeared in a blink of light which caused Pain to growl.

"You are coming with me, vulpix." She demanded and I nodded like a coward. Maybe she was unfriendly with her comrades. She led me the way through the corridor which I followed her indifferently, not knowing whether to trust her or not.

"Terror, he thinks he is ahead of me just because he knows teleport. That ungraceful mutt!" she muttered angrily which made me flinch. I didn't know that she had emotions. Was that all an act?

"By the way, newcomer, I will tell you about the members. Our leader, Legion, is a very mysterious guy. You should beware of him. That banette, Terror, maybe nice on the outside, but on the inside he is tricky. Smasher is a cold hearted warrior so he won't give a damn about compassion or something like that." She explained as we walked. Why was she doing this at this moment? Was she giving me a warning?

"And Yo-yo Boy is extremely childish. So you better understand him. Fear is someone who works secretively. We've never seen him before." She explained more. We stopped at the broken red door and I immediately recognized this room. This was the lab that Neon broke in. He used my existence so that he could sneak out of the lab easily. I grunted, annoyed by this memory. But Pain gave me a warning look to calm down. She seemed as though she had read my mind but I knew that ghost pokemons really couldn't read minds. Only psychic could do that.

"Here we are. We decided to make this room as our meeting room." She said, giving me a smile. This ghost was really creepy. She acted emotionless and cold in front of those two but she was now acting warm and kind.

"You are late, Pain." The creepy voice said in a male tone. There was a mime jr. with one yo-yo in each paw, Terror, Smasher and a mysterious looking gengar with a wide grin on its face.

"Sorry, Legion." Pain said emotionlessly with a bow. I was surprised to see her, emotionless again.

"Anyway, do you succeed in telling your friend, umbreon to join our team?" Legion asked Pain who shook her head.

"Well then, I will just have to kill her then." Smasher said. Pain gave him a serious look.

"Lay a finger on the umbreon and you are dead." She said seriously which Smasher replied with a grunt. He really seemed to be a heartless killer, judging from how he killed rattata.

"Anyhow, welcome to our humble group, vulpix." Legion said, his eyes were locked on me and I started to tremble in fear. What was this look? His eyes were full of anger and hate.

"What's your name?" the mime jr. said cheerfully in a cute name.

"Heat." I replied indifferently, causing the clown to laugh whatever his reason was.

"That name's so funny." He laughed and I growled.

"Nobody laughs at my name!" I snarled, baring my teeth.

"Anyhow, I will tell you your first mission. This is important, so everyone should listen!" Legion said seriously, with a sinister smile. What was this abnormal group? Did I join the wrong group after all?


	26. The Young Maiden's Determination

**Floret's POV**

I woke up lazily like usual. My eyes were slanting as I didn't want to wake up fully. I still wanted to sleep more but I had to get up in search of food. Where was that crazy Gust hiding? I'd looked for him in Sinnon but couldn't find him there. I got up, gave out a loud yawn as I was bored. Gust would not recognize me easily since I had evolved into an umbreon with blue rings and my personality had changed a lot. I was not mild and soft-hearted anymore. In fact, I was wild like Gust. Gust would love me for this. Maybe it was all because of the evolution that I took. I licked my own paw and then groomed my fur. I gave out a sign in disappointment, not being able to find Gust. Now I was in Honnen and if I could not find him here, I would have to kill him for sure since I doubted that he would care for me at all.

"Miss, can I discuss something with you?" I heard a familiar voice and turned around to see the eevee who had a crush on me. He had been tracking me since my arrival at Mauville City. Now I was in Lillycove City and I had travelled quite a distance now. He surely was stubborn, not knowing when to give up.

"What do you want?" I replied dismissively, not paying attention to him. I kept on licking my paw, showing that I wasn't interested in him.

"You see, I love you from the first day we met. So I've been following you for long. Maybe it is time for you to give me some suggestions about what I should do to be near you." He said, blushing slightly while I remained indifferent. I signed in disappointment. He was like a sticker and he was too hard to get rid of which I had been trying for a past few days. To be truthful, I didn't even know his name and I didn't intend to.

"Do you even know my name?" I asked monotonously, causing him to blink in surprise.

"….well… if I have to say the truth…" He said shakily. He was really disappointing. I rolled my eyes and approached him and petted him, making him happy for a moment but I planned to turn him down. I could tell that he was blushing but soon he would be rejected harshly by me. It would be fun to watch him then.

"Well, how do you have a crush on a girl without even knowing her name?" I started but he ignored since he was enjoying himself, being petted by me. I stopped petting, causing him to stare at me confusedly.

"Do you know what I don't like about you? To be truthful, I dislike everything." I said harshly. He suddenly became sad. I knew it since it was written all over his face.

"You are just so simple and honest. That's the main point." I said, circling around him. His face and ears were now drooped down.

"The kind I like is nasty kind with a wild personality." I said, chuckling while the eevee whimpered in sadness.

"I will tell you the last thing. I am taken already by a leafeon." I said, smirking. He then started to strode away with his face drooped down. Maybe I said too much. I shouldn't feel so guilty but yet I still felt. I had rejected many eons before and for each I felt the same way.

"Don't worry. Many other dames will be looking for you." I shouted, trying to comfort the depressed eevee.

"Thanks." He whimpered. I felt sorry for him. Guess I was still soft-hearted after all but I couldn't be like that anymore. Evolution helped me a lot of being not soft-hearted. And if Gust were to become my mate, I had to be as nasty at him. I could feel my eyes, burning with my ambition. But now I had to retrace my steps back to Fortree through the forest since Lillycove was a harbor city and I could not continue in water. I hoped I would not meet that stubborn eevee on the way or otherwise, he would think I liked him. If Gust was here, he would kill this guy for sure. I walked through the forest. On the way, I bumped into a pokemon and fell backwards.

"Oh, Floret, I'm very sorry." It was Pain who I bumped into. That nice sweet ghost was always full of surprise.

"Never mind, Miss Pain." I said as I slowly got up. She was with a vulpix I had never seen before.

"Anyway, have you thought about joining the Dark Group? Your strength surely would be appreciated." She said in a nice way and I shook my head.

"Don't go with that stuff again. I don't want to join any group." I replied sincerely. I didn't mean to turn her down but it was true. My only goal was to live my life peacefully with Gust. So I was in pursuit of him.

"I don't think she really is strong. She looks pathetic." The vulpix said indifferently just to receive a warning glare from the mismagius and a mocking chuckle from me. I was used to being insulted since Gust used to insult me a lot when we were young. Even though Grandpa Winter tried to stop him, he'd never changed. I wondered how he was right now.

"Anyhow, some ladies will like your wild type." I mocked the vulpix whose face turned red. It was very intimidating.

"I don't plan on having a mate." He said, putting both Pain and me into laughter.

"Anyway, I'm Floret." I said and he grunted. Pain shoved him to show some manners towards me. She really didn't like one of her friends to be disrespected.

"Heat's the name." he said dismissively.

"Anyway, what are you two doing out here?" I asked Pain curiously.

"We are going to convince the Magmar Army to join us." She said and I blinked my eyes. I had never heard of magmar army before. I felt that I must observe the army.

"Mind if I tag along?" I asked politely even though I knew that Pain wouldn't refuse any of my requests.

"Not at all." She said, giving me a warm smile while Heat grunted indifferently. We started to walk until we arrived at a groove. I could see nine magbies, arranged in square position, with a magmar in the front, marching in paces.

"Soldiers, follow my lead." The magmar said and then they continued marching. He was humming a marching sound which was very disappointing. Those guys were idiots. I was surprised that they called themselves an army.

"Are you serious about this, Pain?" Heat asked. He seemed to be pretty disappointed too. I wondered what Pain was thinking. Those guys didn't seem strong to me.

"Legion asked us for strong members. Not weaklings." He snarled just to receive an aggressive look from the female ghost.

"Are you saying that I was lying?" she said, threateningly making Heat flinch.

"These guys surely seem strong to me." I lied, chuckling nervously. The Magmar Army was one of the most useless armies I had ever seen and I could not waste my time here. I had to find my precious leafeon out there in the wild.

"Sorry, but I better go now. Bye." I said and then I ran quickly away from them before they caught up with me. I could not afford to get side-tracked anymore. I had to search the whole region for Gust. My determination will never be scattered. I will track him to the end of the earth and to the bottom of the sea. I will find him for sure. I smirked to myself, knowing that I will fulfill my dreams. I looked around and surprised to see that I was in front of a sitting gardevoir. I was lost in my thoughts that I didn't notice. It had closed its eyes, seemed to concentrating on something. And it was one of the rare types indeed since some of its parts which were supposed to be green were blue. I had blue rings instead of yellow ones. Maybe she must be a rare one like me, too. It must be meditating very hard with calm breaths. I waved my paw in front of its eyes, and pretty surprised to see that it did not open its single eyes.

"I guess I better go now." I signed, not wanting to bother the meditating gardevoir.

"Sorry for being rude but I don't want to interrupt my meditation." I turned around as I heard a gentle female voice. The gardevoir was giving me a warm smile which I didn't know how to return it. So I chuckled nervously.

"Well, I was just passing by so no need to be hospitable on me." I said.

"Anyhow, I believe you are looking for a leafeon named Gust, aren't you?" She said and my eyes widened. She must really be good at that psychic stuff. Psychic pokemons couldn't read dark pokemons' minds and yet she read mine.

"I will tell you where he is. He is in Kanto region, so you better hurry to Lillycove City since the next ferry to Kanto is in two hours." She said. I became suddenly happy that I was about to run back to the Lillycove until she said another word.

"I will warn you though. You will be disappointed and sad once you met him. I will not tell the remaining detail." She warned but I didn't care at this puzzled. I kept running towards the Lillycove city where the ferry was waiting for me. Most of all, I was going to meet Gust again.


	27. A Peaceful Day

**Neon's POV**

Gust seemed to be a lot better than before. He was completely recovered and now he could spend his time together with Lilly more. I could just see them as from the spot I was enjoying some berries. Lilly was nuzzling her head against Gust's neck and Gust nipped her ears affectionately in return. When I first saw them, I thought those two were quite disgusting but now I didn't see it that way. And of course, I was in debt of them since I had been staying in their clearing for so long. But I didn't believe they wanted us to go either. They were kind of like a family to me now, especially Flare who was dearer to me than they were. From the end of my eye, I could see Flare, cleaning herself in the stream. If things would go peaceful like this, it would surely be nice but I was still wondering about Heat. Why did he suddenly go wild on me? Why did he become suddenly outraged? Someone must be behind this and I wanted to solve this puzzle but probably gave up since I didn't have a clue to this. And besides, I didn't want to lose this peaceful lifestyle but I would probably have to carry out insane missions from Oracle. Seriously, why didn't she do those missions by herself? I was starting to regret, joining the Forest Defenders but I had been serious about it since the organization really caught my eyes.

"Hey, Neon! Come join us!" My ears perked as I heard Flare's shout. It really interrupted my thoughts but I turned and gazed. She was playing with the two eons in the water, splashing them. I stared at them vaguely, not knowing what to do. Should I join in the game? I prefer, staying near the berry bushes and rest peacefully. So I just lied down and lowered my head dismissively. I raised an eyebrow, as I saw Flare, heading towards me.

"Come on, Neon. It's not fun to stay alone." She said, jumping around me playfully. I had never seen her acting like this before but I remained still.

"I want peace and tranquility. So do as you please just let me stay in peace." I said, smirking as I closed my eyes, trying to relax. Flare didn't give up just yet. She nipped one of my ears and tried to pull me with all her effort. If I was still a vulpix, I would be dragged along by her. I didn't move an inch, closing my eyes, trying to relax despite the fact that Flare was trying to pull me. To my surprise, Flare stopped nipping my ear, causing me to open my eyes. She had moved out of the way of the water ball, flying towards me. The water splashed as it collided with my face, soaking my whole body.

"Gotcha, Neon." Lilly shouted and both the two eons burst into laughter which Flare joined. I scowled, slightly annoyed by the action. My whole body was now wet but I somehow felt quite happy. Maybe, it would be fun to play with them.

"Hey, Lilly! Your Water Pulse didn't do a thing on me, fool!" I flamed up Lilly a little so that it would be more fun. Gust seemed to be rather afraid.

"It is very rude to insult like a lady like me. I will teach you a lesson of being polite." She yelled as she shot some more water pulses at me which I dodged with ease. Luckily, I could move a bit faster now since I had adjusted to my new body. The water even missed my nine tails which meant that my evasion was getting better. I was starting to think this as training for evasion. From the end of my eye, I noticed that Flare was hiding behind the bushes. As for me, I dashed towards Lilly as well as dodging the water pulses she shot. I jumped at her like a hunting wolf and pinned her to the stream. The stream was swallow enough for her to stick her face above the water's surface. I had anchored my paws on her chest firmly, sealing the ways to escape for her.

"How's that?" I asked sarcastically and Lilly smirked. She kicked me with her hind legs, causing me to fall backwards. I rubbed my fore head with my paw gently since I felt a little headache even though the impact was not powerful. But she really could think of a way to counter with half of her body, immobilized. She was really experienced if I had to say.

"I don't think so, Neon the Ninetales." She mocked, giving me a grin. She really was polite even when she mocked.

"Encore! Encore!" Gust cheered her and Lilly bowed her head in a respectful way.

"You are very nice to cheer a lady like this." She said, lifting her head again. I got up and jumped in front of Gust, splashing water into his eye. The leafeon yelped as water blinded him. This time, I had changed my target from Lilly to Gust. He wiped his eyes and gave me a glare. But I could see him, smirking.

"So you want to play rough, do you?" he said and I chuckled. He splashed water at me which I returned with a water splash. Even though I was a fire pokemon, I didn't know why I enjoyed playing in water with them. Flare joined into the water battle and Lilly resumed her position in the game. I noticed Lightning from afar, giving us an awkward glance, with his eyebrow raised. But I ignored it since I was enjoying my game. We played until we fell to the ground, panting as we had exhausted ourselves.

"I've never had this fun before." I said while everybody was speechless. Lightning approached us, causing Gust to scowl because of his appearance.

"Don't get the wrong idea, Mr. Jealous." he sneered, smiling. "I've come just to pay you a visit as a friend so you better not sulk again.

Gust growled but the rest of us chuckled. We got on our feet and had a nice chat in the clearing.

"I've never seen you guys, enjoying yourselves like this…" Lightning started, smirking while Gust was looking at him, quite alarmed.

"….especially you, Lilly." He said, winked which caused Gust to bristle his fur and take a battle pose. The rest of us burst in laughter as we noticed Gust's reaction. It was just the reaction I expected. The other must have expected that he would be aggressive towards Lightning too, otherwise they would be staring at him nervously. Gust surely was overprotective of Lilly. Gust realized that Lightning was only screwing with him. His face turned red as he grunted. He was probably hiding his embarrassment without much success.

"I surely enjoyed this day. To tell you the truth, I've never had this fun with other pokemons since I rarely played with one." I said sincerely. "But this sure reminds me of my family."

I only used to play with my young master, the boy. This fun really reminded of the fun we had back them. We used to play many games a lot.

"Neon, you are such a good friend." I smiled as his voice echoed inside my head. He was part of my memories which I could never forget. He really was a good kid. I wished that he would be here so that he could meet these good friends and we could all play together. He could even see me as a ninetales and became proud of me. But that was not possible since he was already long gone. But I endured this sadness. There was an awkward pause since the others were staring at me nervously.

"Flare, what do you think about today, Flare?" I hastily asked, with a smile, not wanting the others to ask me about my past. I could feel a tear rolling down my face but I ignored it.

"Well, I used to play with my younger sister a lot. There is nothing more to tell. What's about you, Gust?" she said shyly.

"There is someone I could never forget. She is not really my sibling but I still see her as a sister. She is the only reminder of my past." He said in different. I took back my sentence from before. This was getting really boring. There was no interesting thing about them. Lightning seemed to be pretty bored too. He was giving a yawn. I had to lighten this party up.

"Gust, can you tell me how you and Lilly become mates?" I asked, with a large smirk. Gust suddenly flinched with his face red.

"Why should I?" he snarled. The rest of the group, including Lightning, agreed with me and we protested together.

"Come on, it is nothing to be embarrassed about." Lilly said. She was very confident and I envied that.

Okay, I will tell you our story." Gust agreed at once. This would really be interesting.


	28. The Eons' Romance 1

**Gust's POV**

I guessed I had no choice but to tell them out story. They really wanted to hear about it, including that freaky Lightning. He seriously had given up on Lilly.

"Okay, this takes place seven months ago."I started to tell my story.

* * *

I arrived at Kanto regions just a few days ago, probably starving. I hadn't eaten since the last day. And it was probably in the night. It was full moon that day with the star twinkling in the sky. But the weather was getting cloudier. I ignored this weather, thinking about foraging. There was no food around and I really was hungry. This was just a real pain in the ass. I should probably be able to find some edible food on the way. By thinking of food, I continued my way aimlessly. I didn't know and care which way I was heading. To be sincere, I didn't even know where I was. The only thing I knew was that I had to live and become strong, so that I could fulfill my dream of being the strongest and nastiest eon of all. That was what I promised to Floret. I hoped that she was okay being left alone with that old glaceon. I believed that Winter would take care of her, nevertheless. That old guy was just too kind and the white eevee was just too soft. I grinned, slightly happy by these memories with them. Even if that gramps drove me out, I was still in debt to him. He took care of me for very long. Despite of his stupid lectures, I really should show him a lot of gratitude. My stomach growled which interrupted my thoughts.

"Thinking about the past isn't going to fill my stomach." I muttered to myself, grunting as I felt hungrier. I hoped I could find some food. My ears perked up as I heard some footsteps nearby. It must be some foolish humans though but they might have food with them. So I walked towards the direction of the sound and saw two humans, wearing backpacks, walking. I hid myself in a bush, listening to their conservation.

"I am tired, Tod." One of them said, giving out a yawn.

"Yeah, I suggest that we would relax a bit." Tod replied with a yawn. They both dropped down the bags and sat down.

"I am not used to sleep in open during at nights in the forest. We would find some place to spend a night right." The former said hopefully and Tod nodded.

"Just relax and close your eyes for a bit. But remember, stay on guard. If a wild pokemon comes, we can defend it with our pokemons. Don't worry too much." He said, closing his eyes.

"You are right. We have our own tough pokemons so we don't need to worry about." The other said, closing his eyes. They were indeed foolish humans being conceited just because of their pokemons. And I did not plan to battle anyone. I was only going to steal their food. I doubted that they would fall asleep right away so I waited a little more. My stomach growled and I scowled.

"Don't worry, stomach. I will get you some food soon." I muttered, comforting myself. After a moment, I assumed that they were asleep since I started to hear them snoring. So I quietly tiptoed to one of the backpack and started to search for food.

* * *

"So you are a sneaky little thief back then. Pitiful indeed." Lightning mocked and I growled. Lilly chuckled which annoyed me more.

"So what!" I snarled, causing the jolteon to flinch.

"No fighting here. Story first." Flare said, smiling. I quickly swallowed my anger and continued telling them my story.

* * *

I searched the entire backpack, just to find some junks and two pokeballs. The only edible things were three loaves of bread, packed in a transparent bag. I took it out and put it on the ground. I searched the other backpack. This time was worse no edible food for me. There was meat inside but I was not a carnivore. So I took only the bag of bread and sneaked out until I reached a safe place to eat. I tore the bag apart with my teeth and greedily ate the food. It filled my stomach. I signed happily as I felt better than before.

"This really hit the spot!" I said to myself, as I lied down. I closed my eyes, trying to relax.

"What's this?" I opened my eyes as I heard a female voice. There was an aquatic eon standing in front of me, looking at the torn up bag.

"I can't believe that you actually stole some humans' food just to fill your stomach." She said politely but I growled in slight annoyance.

"I can offer you food if you want." She said, brushing my face with her fish-tail.

"Just go away." I said irritably and got a burst of water in return.

"Never be rude to a lady." She said, walking and I growled. She was just an annoying little bitch. I would never obey her. I could be rude if I wanted and she had no right to order me around. And I would do what I wanted to do. I closed my eyes again, trying to relax. Soon I felt a rain drop on my snout, so I opened my eyes to learn the situation. It had started to rain now and it was getting heavier and heavier. This day was just getting worse and worse. First, it was extremely difficult to find food and then that insane vaporeon soaked me and now it was raining. It seemed I couldn't stay in the opening anymore. I had to go somewhere else. There were many trees but none of them was big enough for me to shelter me from the rain completely. I ran and ran, hoping to find a nice place to shelter from this cold rain. Finally, I signed in relief as I found a tree big enough for me to shelter. I sheltered myself under the tree, but shivering from the cold.

"The outside world is tougher than I thought." I mutter to myself, still shivering with the cold. As the times like this, I missed my home. Whenever there was rain, the old glaceon gave us completely sheltered in the temple. Even though the temple itself was not perfect since it was ruined, it was warm to stay inside the temple. Now it was cold staying on the outside, only under the tree. Back at the temple, we would chat happily at the time like this. I really missed those times. But it was no use to miss them now. I had survived anything with all my might. Even though I was alone, there was still some spirit within me. I could not let that spirit die. I must bear this cold and lived longer. If I gave up myself like this, I would not become the strongest and therefore, I would not be able to keep my promise to that white eevee. I smiled as I felt happier, thinking about her. Even though I did not take every words of her seriously, I still thought of her as my sister. The breeze became stronger, causing me to wince in cold. I wondered what those two humans were doing right now. But I could not afford to think about them, 

while I had to take care of myself first. First of all, if I were to sleep in peace, I had to ignore the cold. I had to sooth myself with something. I plucked a leaf from my body and started to whistle, using it. My Grasswhistle was not very strong, and I rarely used that move. But I could whistle in a perfect melody, which made a very soothing tone, best for relaxation or comforting. Floret liked this melody when I started to whistle as a leafeon. The old glaceon liked it, too. But I was driven out a week after my evolution for some reason even I didn't know. Since then, I did not see them anymore. I continued to whistle with my leaf until I fell to sleep.


	29. The Eons' Romance 2

I woke up, blinking my eyes as my eyes were not used to the sun's light. It took me a second to get used to it. I scanned the area briefly and flinched as I saw a vaporeon sleeping, nestling against me. I recognized her as the vaporeon who startled me the last day. What was she doing? Her tail was tightly warped around mine affectionately. I slowly untied my tail and prepared to leave.

"Going already?" I jerked as I suddenly heard her voice. I wasn't aware that she was awake.

"I have questions for you, Miss Vaporeon. What do you think you are doing to me?" I questioned her but she chuckled. She was as calm as ever but her behavior was strange. She seemed to be trying her hardest not to be rude. I had never seen a pokemon like that.

"Well, being together keeps you warm." she said politely, giving me a smile. "I like rain as much as other water pokemons does. But then I found you, shivering in cold. So I thought that I would give you a little warmth by cuddling with you."

Why the hell was she so polite? It was really freaking. Even when I was nasty to her, she just replied to me in a polite way. And why did she care about me anyway? I could have endured the cold even without her help. And how did she find me? She surely left me a lot of questions which made me puzzled at it.

"Whatever. I don't want to involve with stupid females." I groaned as I started to walk away. I jerked as I got a burst of water in my body.

"What the hell was that for!?" I yelled angrily but she remained calm as always.

"You should stop being rude to a lady." She said as she approached me, causing my fur to bristle. I bared my teeth threateningly as she drew nearer. She wasn't even startled by my threat. Just what was she made of? She sat right beside me, causing me to growl. I didn't know why but part of me didn't want to move and my body was completely obeying that part. But I growled, in hope of driving the insane eon away. She began nuzzling her head against my neck. Why was she doing this? This was really troublesome. Just what did she do to me that my body won't move? But if I thought about it again, she didn't really do anything else. It was just me, suffering from the paralysis.

"Just get away!" I snapped but she remained calm. She slowly moved away from me and I felt a stab of disappointment in my heart as she moved away. My ears and face drooped down suddenly for some unknown reason.

"Your face tells me that you don't want me to leave." She said, and I growled, slightly frustrated. I turned around and slowly walked away. I just had no idea what was she trying to do?

* * *

"Geez, you are pathetic. You don't even know that she was checking out on you." Lightning said and I growled in annoyance. Lilly sent a burst of water at him and I blinked in surprise.

"Please don't insult other's mate. That's very rude." She said and I smiled. She really was helping me out. I was glad that she was on my side instead of that jerk.

"Anyway….." I continued.

* * *

"You played a nice music yesterday." She said and I turned around to look at her. She was smiling warmly, almost like an angel. I grunted in annoyance.

"What do you know about it?" I asked irritably.

"Well, it was the music that led me to you last night. By the time I saw you, you were already asleep with your body, completely cold. You could have a fever so I thought I would warm you by cuddling beside you. And looks like you are warm to be healthy." She said and I raised an eyebrow. I scowled again as I was slightly annoyed by her stupid ideas. Of course, I wasn't going to catch cold just because of the rain.

"Thanks." I said irritably, started to walk. I continued my way through until I reached a big apple tree, with many apples growing on it. The three loaves of bread from yesterday didn't satisfy me enough. So I extended out two vines from my leaves and wrapped them around a branch. I then rewound the vines, climbing onto the branch in the process. I plucked one of the apples with my vine and ate it to my satisfaction. The apple surely was good but most who couldn't climb trees ate apples which were dropped on the ground. Most leafeons couldn't climb trees but I created a stunt with vine whips which enabled me to climb one. But I couldn't stop thinking about that female vaporeon even though I didn't know her name yet. She was very polite but very annoying too.

"That woman surely is a pain in the neck." I muttered to myself. I lied down on the branch, with my stomach against it. My legs were hanging down the branch. I yawned lazily as I didn't have anything interesting to do. I then looked down to see how high I was. It was not very high and the view was not scary. I raised an eyebrow as I suddenly noticed the vaporeon again. What was she doing here? Did she follow me all the way here? It didn't matter and I didn't care at all. But my eyes were locked on the female, observing her actions. She sat down as if she was waiting for someone. I growled in annoyance since watching her really pissed me off. Nothing interesting had happened for a few minutes. I plucked another apple and slowly ate it.

A humanoid pokemon appeared in front of her in blink of light. It was a gardevoir and rather a strange one indeed since it had blue parts instead of green ones. They were having some kind of conservation which I could not hear and I did not intend to since it didn't concern with me. I just lied down and closed my eyes, ignoring the two creatures below. It really was troublesome to see her in my sight. I didn't want to see her again. Being with her just bothered me a lot for some unknown reason. I didn't care about anyone except Floret and Gramps. They were the only ones who knew me sincerely and I didn't plan on having any more friends.

"Hey, you!" I opened my eyes as I heard a familiar female voice. The vaporeon was looking at me. I noticed that the gardevoir had gone but to where and how did she go in just a few minutes? I thought the discussion would be long.

"What are you doing up there?" she shouted to me and I groaned. I stood up to climb down the tree, but slipped in the process. My eyes widened as I fell down, causing me to groan in pain. I fell to the ground with my legs stretched out.

"That's got to get hurt." The vaporeon sneered, snickering while I was rubbing my forehead with my paw.

"Of course, it does." I replied irritably. Why was I meeting her twice this time? Then I only thought of these events as a coincidence.

"Can you keep me company for a moment?" she said, licking her paw. She was grooming her fur while I was giving her an annoyed look. My body did not move, obeying her words even though I didn't know why. She was giving me that angel's smile again which I couldn't ignore.

"Leafeon, can you stay with me for a little longer? I want some company since I am lonely by myself." She requested politely.

"Why do I have to be the one? There are many other pokemons out there. That gardevoir, too, can keep you company." I said reasonably, looking away from her.

"Please, just this once." She begged, looking at me. Somehow my mind couldn't resist her request. Since I got nothing to do, accompanying wouldn't hurt.

"Fine. Have it your way." I said irritably. She wasn't like Floret at all. Floret became desperate when I was irritated. But this vaporeon did not seem to be like that at all. It would be troublesome to deal with her. She walked closer to me, causing my fur to bristle again.

"Hey, I did not say that you can come near me." I protested but she continued to approach me.

"By saying 'have it your way', you allowed me to do whatever I want." She countered my word which made me flinch. She really was clever and I could not find a word to counter her comment.

"You really make me sick." I said but she ignored that comment and sat beside me. Just what did she want with me?

"Let me introduce myself. My name's Lilly. I hope I can get your name in return." She said politely and I groaned but decided to give her my name.

"Call me Gust." I said irritably, but she only gave me that smile again. This one would be very hard to get rid of.


	30. The Eons' Romance 3

**Lilly's POV**

It seemed like Gust was completely influenced by my smile. I had to keep at it if I wanted him to be my mate. I was looking for a nice guy to mate and I finally found one. And yet it was very lucky since I prefer a leafeon to the others. And this leafeon seemed to be nasty which meant that I had to change him. He was also a boor and I didn't like that very much. But he really was cute when he was irritated and I could not afford myself to lose this opportunity to lose a leafeon. And I wanted to hear that sweet music of his again. Many people might think that I was extremely selfish but I had sworn to myself that once I had a mate, I would love him more than anyone else and never cheat on him. First of all, I would have to attract Gust to be on my side. I didn't if he was interested in me or not but for me, I had taken a strong liking to him.

"So your name's Gust. Nice to meet you." I greeted, giving him a smile.

"Whatever." He groaned. He really was rude but I tolerated with him since I didn't want him to be angry. Judging from his behavior, he seemed to be a real petulant guy. But I wouldn't give up until I could convince him. I started nuzzling my head against his neck but he moved away slightly. I slowly approached him and nuzzled him again affectionately. I wrapped my tail around his. His fur was bristling and I could feel it. But I completely ignored it and continued to flirt with him.

"What're you doing?" he asked, with a slight anger in his tone. He looked unsure but he didn't move even a little which meant he liked me even though he didn't realize it himself.

"You really are petulant. And petulant guys need warmth and comfort from others." I said, giving a lick to his cheek, causing his face to turn red. He jerked backwards and took a battle pose.

"Don't do that!" he snapped and I sent a burst of water at him. His face was not red anymore.

"Snapping at the lady who is trying to help you is extremely rude." I pointed out his mistake, causing him to growl in slight annoyance.

"Then why did you lick me?" he groaned. He really was prosaic, not knowing what a female wanted. I approached him once more and sat beside him.

"I have already told you. You need comfort from others." I said politely, nuzzling my head against his neck more. I could see that he was feeling pretty uncomfortable because of my behavior.

"You really are one idiosyncratic lady." He said uncomfortably. I had to lead him to my clearing if I were to get his affection in one day. But I knew that it would not be easy since he was quite unfamiliar around a woman. I stood up and slowly moved away from him.

"Can you follow me, Gust?' I asked and winked at him. He looked away with an annoyed face.

"Tell me a reason." He said irritably and I signed in disappointment. He really was a wild and hostile one.

"You said that you will accompany me for a day, didn't you?" I said and he growled, looking away from me. I smiled since he was just cute to look at. He just couldn't accept his feeling.

"And guys don't take back their words." I added, causing him to growl. It seemed that he couldn't find a word to counter my words. He signed and followed me. I gave him a warm smile again which he seemed to be lost in it.

I kept an eye on him so that he wouldn't do anything crazy. He really was honest, not doing anything except to follow me. I wanted to startle him so I gave him a smile again. He really must have liked the smile since he seemed to be lost in it whenever I gave him. At least I arrived in my clearing. I was really glad to have this place as my home since it had the full supply of food and water. It had a great place to sleep. And I could shelter from the snow and rain in the nearby trees. Gust would surely like this place.

"Come on, Gust." I invited Gust to follow me who did as I said. But his irritated face didn't change which seemed to a tiny problem for me. I had to cheer him up somehow. I ran into the clearing as I felt happy to be home again.

"This is my clearing. Do you like it?" I asked Gust playfully who grunted in reply. I approached him and nipped his ears gently.

"Come on." I said, releasing his ears. He obeyed my words and followed me into the centre of the clearing. He didn't seem to be amazed as I hoped him to. But I didn't just give up. He headed for the berry bushes and plucked a berry and ate it. I supposed that he was still hungry then. I stayed beside him by the berry bushes, looking at him with interest.

"Are you still hungry?" I asked with concern and he nodded, closing his eyes.

"Well, then let me show you some Pecha berries which are very sweet." I said. He shook his head and plucked a small orange berry which I assumed to be Petaya. It tasted awful and why was he choosing that one?

"I rather eat a Petaya berry than a Pecha berry and no one can change that fact." He said as he put the berry into his mouth. He surely was a strange guy which made me interested in him more. I warped my tail around his affectionately.

"Speaking of which, why are you being so nice and affectionate to me, Lilly?" he asked me suddenly which made me blushed. He was really dull, didn't know a clue about my behavior and actions.

"Well, I believe that you will find out later." I replied politely, with my face still red. I couldn't tell him that I liked him from the start or it would all be over. He would probably leave me with a broken heart and I couldn't accept that. But I gave him a lick in a playful way, causing him to be confused. I just hope that I could keep up with him no matter what.


	31. The Eons' Romance 4

**Gust's POV**

Geez, Lilly really was strange and usual. I was starting to feel about regretting what I said but I had no time for that now. Just what was she trying to do by being affectionate towards me? This really was nonsense. She was nuzzling her head against my neck again. But now I was getting used to it now and my fur did not bristle like the first time which meant I was calmer now. It would be better if I did not disparage her actions since she would probably mad at me and I really didn't like making someone angry due to my own reasons even though I angered Gramps by disobeying many times. I made my sentimental eevee sister, sad by insulting or discouraging her. But she knew that I loved her as my little sister since we had stayed together for a very long time. I remembered, playing with her sometimes which was really fun. Even though I was strong, she always was able to pin me down to the ground which really pissed me. But this vaporeon was in a different situation, which I needed to do something.

"What's with that face? Are you deep in thoughts?" she asked me in confusion.

"It's none of your business." I replied, looking away from her. But that didn't stop from her strange behavior, nuzzling her head against my neck again. I moved away from her since I had filled my stomach to full. But she followed me around wherever I went which kind of irritated me.

"Why are you following me around?" I yelled at her and got my fur drenched in return. She really was one irritating vaporeon.

"Well, don't be rude to someone who's accompanying you." She said and I lied down, grunting in irritation. In reality, I was not that patient with someone in these kinds of situation and would attack that person for sure. But for some unknown reasons, I could not attack her. But she really was the strangest one I had ever known.

"Can you tell me your purpose?" I asked and she blinked in surprise.

"Do you want something from me?" I added another question, causing her to become serious. I really wished that I was an espeon that time so that I could read her mind without any hesitation. Then I would truly know her goal. Being a leafeon was not bad either except the fact that I couldn't read minds when I needed to, like this situation. There was a long paused and I was starting to get annoyed.

"Well, it's nothing really. I just want you to be on my side. I really wanted you to be my ….." She said with a long face. I was sure that she was not faking that face.

"Anyway, you will spend a day with me, won't you?" she suddenly changed her subject and I blinked in confusion. Why did she change the subject so suddenly? She really was troublesome. I really wanted to know but I decided not to question her about it.

"I never take back my word." I replied. I received a grateful lick in the cheek from her. I was getting used to being licked by her which she had doing many times. But sometimes, I really wanted to be alone.

"Where can I have a bath?" I asked her, raising an eyebrow.

"At that stream." She answered, her head pointing to a stream. I really didn't notice that. She really had everything in her place. But by tomorrow, I was going to leave. I only wandered around from town to town for no reasons and hadn't thought about settling down in a place yet. I dipped my body in the stream, cleaning myself. This time, Lilly remained still at the previous spot. Maybe she decided not to bother me. I was not concerned about it anyway. But I felt strangely awkward, not having her around. 

She was watching me from a distance. Maybe she was offended by my words even though she acted like she was not.

"Don't you want to bathe together with me?" I asked, loud enough for her to hear. She smiled, showing that she was happy with my question. She walked towards the stream and dipped herself.

"You can't stay without me, can you?" she said, grinning. She had a point in there. It was awkward, not having her around. But if I had her around again, she would do those weird stuffs to me. I just hoped that I knew what I was doing.

"Thank you for letting me beside you." She said, giving me a lick in the cheek again.

"If I have to put it your way, making a lady is sad is kind of rude." I replied, causing her to snicker. She really wanted to stay close to me for some reason.

* * *

"Lilly, I didn't know that you were this diligent." Flare said, causing Lilly to chuckle.

"Well, it was for my future after all." She laughed.

"Anyway…" I continued.

* * *

I spent the evening just by idling while Lilly was acting the same way. But I was kind of happy since she reminded me of how Floret wanted to get my attention. But I completely ignored her like I was doing to Lilly right now. It was night now. While Lilly was having her dinner, I lied down, gazing at the moon, which was still fully round. It was not surprising since the full moon generally last a day or two from the full moon day. The weather was clear that night, revealing the beautiful sky with the moon and many twinkling stars. Gramps used to describe the moon as the mother and the stars as her children, living in the sky as a happy family. They gave us the beautiful soothing feeling and everyone appreciated their light. As for the sun, it was only liked by some people since it was too mighty and proud to accept any help. That was just one of that glaceon's stupid lectures anyway. I liked the sun since it gave me light to use Synthesis. And I wanted to be mighty as well. But I couldn't find the answer behind this puzzle.

"Well, are you lost in thoughts again?" I was startled by Lilly's sudden comment. She approached to me and lied besides me, gently nestling against me.

"I believe I told you that it is not your business." I said irritably but Lilly only smiled.

"Can I ask you something?" she asked and I blinked. I was the one who needed the answer to her behavior but now she was the one to ask me.

"Go on." I said, still thinking about what she might ask.

"Have you ever thought about having a family?" she asked and I blinked in surprise. What point was she trying to get to? And I was unsure about this comment.

"I…. I don't know. You see, I had been a wanderer for a long time and I've been alone all the time. But I had a small family long ago. It was indeed a small family, consisting of three members, including myself. 

It was fun back then. But I haven't decided what I should do for the future yet." I answered sincerely, giving her a smile since I was in a good mood.

"I see. So you are indecisive then. Can I ask you another thing?" she said and I nodded.

"What are your sentiments about me?" she asked and I blinked my eyes. This was one hard question. She was actually asking how I thought about her.

"To put it bluntly, I think you are strange, unusual since you like to do those weird stuffs even to a total stranger, like me. But you are somehow friendly and nice, except when you think that I am rude." I answered truthfully and she smiled, nuzzling her head against mine affectionately.

"Cut that out already." I said but surprisingly, with no anger in my tone. She continued to nuzzle me, causing me to sign. She stopped and looked at me.

"I will show you something." She said and I raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"Look into my eyes and in the process, try to look beyond them." She said. What the hell was she trying to do? Was she testing me or something? She really was one unusual vaporeon.

"Okay." I accepted her request and looked into her eyes. I found that her eyes were really beautiful like the twinkling stars in the sky. I concentrated, trying to look beyond them. I noticed that she was trying to do the same thing. I suddenly became incredibly relaxed even though I didn't see anything peculiar. I really liked this feeling.

"So how do you feel?" she asked me, which made my feeling disappear magically.

"Somehow nice" I replied, smiling. She really must be satisfied by the answer since she looked really happy.

"Wouldn't it be nicer if you whistle like before?" she asked me again. She asked me many requests but I couldn't refuse somehow. My mind was completely influenced by her. I plucked a leaf from my body and started to whistle with it without a word, creating a soothing music in process. She closed her eyes, relaxing with the melody.

She murmured something that I couldn't hear but I ignored it and continued to whistle. She rested her head against my neck but I continued to play.

"Do you like the music?" I asked, but found that she was asleep already. She really was cute when she was sleeping.


	32. The Conclusion of Eons' Romance

I still couldn't figure why she fell asleep since I knew that my Grasswhistle was only for relaxation and not strong enough for the attack. So she shouldn't have fallen asleep. I was going to leave since it would become morning by the time she woke up. And I promised her company only for a day. I got up carefully, not wanting to wake her up. It was a success since she was in her deep sleep. I strode out of the clearing. She was cute when she was asleep but I had to put away that thought for now. If I had stayed there longer, I wouldn't be able to leave that place and I didn't want that for the answer. I still wanted to wander more. But I felt that I would lonely without her. She was such a nice friendly vaporeon. And it would be rare for us to meet each other again if I left now. But I had to leave without any hesitation.

"Bye." I murmured without looking back. I continued to go on forward ahead aimlessly. After a few moments, I noticed that I was on a road. But still I could not stop worrying about her. Would she be okay because of my sudden leave? Nah.. she would just be fine by her own. After all, I didn't break my promise, so she couldn't say anything.

"Aren't you being a little too harsh on the girl?" a female voice said from behind. I turned around just to check and noticed the strange gradevoir, who was with Lilly before, was sitting on the branch. I stayed alarmed since I didn't know that she was a friend or foe.

"Don't worry. I am not a foe but a friend." She said. She just read my mind and that was so freaking. I growled, baring my teeth. I prepared myself for an attack but was surprised to see that I couldn't move. My feet were engulfed in blue aura. I felt as someone was holding my feet and I couldn't move a bit.

"I told you already. So calm down a bit and think about your feelings when you look into Lilly's eyes." She said and my eyes widened since she knew what she shouldn't. Did she just read my mind to find out what I had done in the past?

"Just think about it and you will feel relaxed like you did back then." She said, giving me a smile which made me felt that I could trust her. I tried to think about those beautiful eyes again. They were just beautiful which made me feel relaxed. But why did I find those beautiful?

"Isn't it obvious?" the gardevoir said and I snapped out of my thoughts. Who was she anyway?

"I will show you something." She said, gestured me to follow her. I didn't want to follow her but my feet were following her by themselves, still engulfed in a blue aura.

"Why are you doing this?" I demanded but she didn't reply. We walked until we reached a mansion.

"Now what?" I said irritably. Her eyes glowed and both of us were lifted into the air. She brought me to a window of a mansion. I was floating in front of the window. I peeked through the window in the process and saw some humans and a vulpix. There was a man, a woman and a boy. The boy was holding the vulpix and both of them seemed to be happy. They were laughing and the adults were watching them, smiling. What was the point of all these nonsense?

* * *

"Neon, what's wrong?" Flare said, looking concerned while Neon seemed to be deep in thoughts. His face showed that he was not pretty happy about it. Flare licked his cheek to get his attention.

"I am okay, Flare. Don't worry about it." He said, petting her back. Flare still looked concerned. She was smiling uneasily, not to let Neon down.

"Hey, we want to hear more." Lightning said and so, I kept on doing my job.

* * *

"Look here, gardevoir. I don't even know your name and.." I started to complain as I didn't like being lifted and forced to look through the window just to see this nonsense.

"My name's Oracle and this is not nonsense." Oracle replied and my eyes narrowed.

"I want you to know about having a family. Look at them." She said, her head pointing at the window. The kid threw the vulpix into the air and caught it again and the vulpix seemed to enjoy it a lot since he was laughing a lot. He was repeating this action again and again, causing the vulpix to continue laughing.

"You see that. They really are happy, being together as a family." She said wisely.

"I still don't get your point. What does this have to do with me?" I asked, slightly annoyed. But it somehow felt nice to watch the others, being happy.

"Gust, you should consider about having a family." She said and I blinked in surprise. I didn't remember mentioning my name to her and yet she knew.

"Everyone is not born to be alone. They must have someone to protect, someone to care for in order to achieve their goals. Even if you refuse to have a family, you will find one sooner or later. But wouldn't it be better if you find one now while you have the chance?" she said nicely but she was like gramps, giving lecture.

"And about your old man, I will tell you what he meant by the moon, stars and the Sun." she said, surprising me. She really could pierce through my mind without any difficulty.

"The moon always gets along very well with the stars and even with the creatures on the earth. They never blame her for anything. It doesn't matter if it is round or not. The stars support it and it supports them. And all of them happily support this earth. Don't you see how nice they are as a family?" she said wisely, smiling. I was still not convinced.

"But the sun, even if it is mighty, it is still unhappy, not having a family. It blindly gives the extreme heat to the earth sometimes, causing the organisms to suffer just because of his unhappiness. Even though some appreciate the sun's heat, there are some who hates sun's heat so much." She said and I raised an eyebrow.

"What the glaceon wants to say is that having a family will always keep you happy and then because of this happiness, you rarely give trouble to the other. But being along, you will always be irritated and unhappy which makes you nasty to others. The main point is he wants you to change your nasty nature by meeting someone, precious to you." She said wisely. That old man lectured me indirectly not to be nasty. I liked my nature and I didn't want to change. All he wanted was to make me polite and nice. I grunted irritably as I didn't like it.

"Whether you like being nasty or not, that doesn't matter. But I am certain of one thing. You really like that girl in the inside, don't you?" she said and my eyes widened. I liked Lilly? No way! That couldn't be happening.

"Face it, Gust. You like her. You don't want to leave her alone." Oracle continued. "I have known Lilly since she was an eevee. She wanted to be a leafeon like you but accidently stepped on a water stone which forced her to evolve into a vaporeon. But she doesn't give up her life yet. I still her words that time. 'Even if I cannot be a leafeon anymore, I will definitely find a male one and love him for the rest of 

my life'. This is what she exclaimed. She has her eyes on you and you really shouldn't miss this chance. She really is a nice girl and I doubted that there will ever be anyone as faithful and nice as her."

My eyes widened even more. I just realized what Lilly was trying very hard to get. She was trying to get my attention, my love. But why was Oracle telling me about this?

"This is for your own good, Gust." Oracle said. Tears started to drip from my eyes for some unknown reason.

"I don't like her." I protested with a forceful tone.

"Face it, Gust. You love her. If you don't love or like her, then why did you find her face beautiful? Why did you find her eyes, dazzling? Why did you see her smile as that of an angel? And why did you feel awkward when she was not around?" she said, wisely with a smile. That was just so many questions and I couldn't even find an answer to every single one of them.

"You just don't want to admit it. You just don't accept your true feelings yet." She said wisely. Was that true? Was I really that soft to show affection for her? Did I really love her?

"Go to her one more to find out." She said. I fell to the ground limply as she released her grip over me. I stood up with a serious face. My tears had stopped. I bowed my head towards her as to give her respect. She was the first one to get it.

"Thank you, Oracle." I said and then quickly ran to the place where I was playing the music, where I was together with Lilly to realize my true feelings. I didn't even look back since I was such in a hurry. By the time I saw Lilly again, she was still sleeping. She really was cute and beautiful. I lied next to her, and nestled my head against her and fell asleep.

Opening my eyes, I could see Lilly, having her breakfast. This time, I was the one who walked to her.

"So how was your night?" I asked nicely and she blinked her eyes in surprise. Maybe she was surprised because I wasn't nice to her before.

"Well, pretty good." She replied nervously. I had to ask her if she had a crush on me. I just needed to know.

"Lilly, is it true that… you like me?" I asked, with a shaking voice. I was really nervous about that question. Her face turned red as I said this.

"Why are you asking this?" she said, turning away from me.

"Well, I just need to know!" I demanded with my face, red. I frowned as she was hesitating to answer. I put my paw on her shoulder. "Tell me!"

"To tell you the truth, you are right." She said nervously. My frown disappeared as I got her answer. Tears started to fall from her face.

"Yeah, I like you from the start. I tried everything to make you love me. I tried to flirt with you but you just don't understand what I was doing." She said sadly as more tears fell from her eyes. She was grunting, baring her teeth. I knew that she was trying to endure the pain inside her heart.

"You think that I am crazy, don't you? I should have known that it was foolish to try and get your attention." She said sadly. I started to feel guilty about this. Tears, too, fell from my eyes. I pulled her into a hug, surprising her.

"You are not crazy, Lilly. You certainly are not. The truth is…." I said. I had just realized the truth beyond my mysterious mind. Both of our hearts were pounding as I was about to conclude my sentence. "… I love you, too."

I released her from my hug just to look at her face. She was smiling even though there were tears falling from her face. She must be really happy to hear my answer. I closed my eyes as I began to pull her towards me. She was doing the same. Our lips slowly touched which made me feel incredibly happy and nice about it. I never kissed anyone before but it was surely good to know that there was someone who would always be beside and care for me and who would love me to the end. Now I understood what love truly meant.


	33. Uncertainess

**Neon's POV**

Lilly surely had a tough time back then although Flare didn't have to do much. I love as much as always. But there was one thing I couldn't believe. Oracle had known me all along according to Gust's story but what was she hiding? That was the thing that puzzled me. Maybe I should ask her myself so that I could make myself clear. But it would be difficult since she rarely appeared. But I had to try somehow.

"Gust, you surely are funny." Flare said, giggling. I smiled as in agreement. Gust should have known that Lilly liked him. He was just so dumb that he couldn't understand her feelings. If Gust could read my thought, I would be dead meat for sure.

"Sorry for checking on Lilly a few days before. I didn't know that you guys have had the kiss." Lightning said, bowing his head towards the other two eons. For once, I didn't understand what he was talking about.

"Can you tell me what's wrong with a kiss?" I asked curiously.

"To be honest, I want to know, too. Can you tell us?" Flare asked, looking confused. The others gave us the serious look. They seemed to be surprised by our questions, causing me to confuse more. Just what was wrong with just a kiss?

"You guys really don't know about the kiss?" Lightning asked and we both shook our heads horizontally.

"My parents never tell me about it before. So I don't know." Flare said, with a slight confused tone.

"Well, I don't know how a human reacts towards a kiss. But for pokemons, it is very important." He said with a grin. We really didn't know how it was important.

"Even though I was bred by a human, I know about it from the wild pokemons. I will explain it to you." He said, grinning widely, making me to wonder if it was really important or not.

"Pokemons usually don't kiss each other just for some reason. Only lovers kiss, you know. And once you kiss, those two pokemons are said to be bonded forever even though I don't know the reason." He explained and I blinked. Flare and I looked at each other with red face, knowing that we had an accident kiss, some days ago. It was after I finished, invading the Rockets base, back in the Johto region. Oracle punished me afterwards for some logic but that day was the first time that our lips met.

"Does accident count?" I asked, blinking my eyes.

"Well, a kiss is a kiss after all. So it counts." Lilly added.

"I think I will go for a walk." Flare said as she slowly got up from the ground. She gestured me to follow and I obeyed. Maybe she wanted to tell me something. We went into the forest. She suddenly stopped and turned around and looked at me with a serious look.

"What's wrong, Flare?" I asked, looking concerned.

"Do you think it will be okay?" she said, and I blinked. Why was she asking this? What was she concerned about? And I asked a question and got questioned in return. This was really awkward. In fact, I had never seen her, very serious before.

"What is it?" I asked her, sounding concerned. Her ears drooped down, making me worry about her.

"You see…, we just have an accident kiss. Even though I accepted to become your mate, I am not still very sure of myself." She said with a nervous tone. I had to lighten her up somehow.

"Hey, don't be ridiculous, Flare." I laughed nervously, hoping that she would somehow become cheerful.

"No, I am not being ridiculous. It is just what I felt, Neon. To be honest, I have no experience with male." She said, making me more concerned now. There was a pause. I, too, hadn't had anyone close to me like her. She was the one I was going to spend my life with. But I felt that I was somehow not ready for this. I had to put away those thoughts. I must believe that we were ready for each other since we love each other very much.

"And with that 'kiss' stuff, it looks like we are bonded together." She said nervously and I blinked. I faked a chuckle and a smile.

"Don't worry about it, Flare. It must be just some made-belief that some superstitious pokemons make up." I tried to comfort the nervous Flare. But she somehow seemed to be concerned. I walked to her and gave her cheek a lick.

"Even if it is true, we are going to spend our lives together, aren't we?" I asked, with a smile. But Flare kept worrying about it, which kind of annoyed me.

"Listen to me, Flare. You love me, don't you?" I said impatiently and she nodded. "And I love you, too. That's all that matters, Flare. Promise me not to worry so much."

Only then, she smiled and nodded. She rested her head on my chest and I ran my paw down her back in return, making her feel returned. Come to think of it, I really loved her all the time and there was no way that I didn't want to be her mate. She was the perfect one for me. I just need to tighten our bond. I just need to show her my affection towards her.

"I really love you, Neon." She said and I nodded. I then pulled her into a surprise kiss which startled her. But she closed her eyes and remained still and I did the same. I separated us and looked at her to check if she was okay with this. She was perfectly cheered up.

"See, nothing happened even with the kiss of intention. So don't worry." I said, comforting her.

"I trust you, Neon. Anyway, let's head back. The others might be worried." She said and I nodded. We both headed back until we saw the others still chatting. We joined in the chat again as if nothing had happened. I almost forgot about Lightning's master.

"Hey Lightning, won't your master be worried about you?" I asked curiously.

"Well, you see, he went to Vermillion City to pick up his nephew who will be his new apprentice so I am spending a night with you." He said, which made Gust to give him a fiery glare. I just hope those two will get along.


	34. Oracle's Worries

**We are going to see what Oracle was doing. Please read and review.**

**Oracle's POV**

I woke up from my noon sleep, feeling hungry so I plucked an apple from a nearby tree. I could see that my home was no different from those of other pokemons' except that it was a field of flower beds. The provision of food and water in my home was good like the others' since it was surrounded by some apple trees and berry bushes. There was a stream in the neighborhood, providing water supply. Everyone would have a home, providing the necessary things for their life which made equitable to those of the others. I sat down in the field and closed my eyes. Meditating usually calmed my mind down but now I could never stop worrying since I sensed troubles ahead for those young kids of the Kanto regions. I did not believe in fates so I would not try to read the future. Nevertheless, I still meditated, trying to make my mind calm with some success. A few moments later, I sensed Prophet's appearance behind me which disturbed my meditation even though I knew that he did not mean to. I read his mind and found out that he became worried because I might get irritated.

"Don't worry, Prophet. You didn't bother me at all. Sit down." I said calmly, slowing opening my eyes. He sat down. I turned around and looked directly at him since I didn't want to be impolite. "So what news do you have?"

"No news, Oracle. I just came to pay you a visit." He said, bowing his head.

"Is there anything about Neon and the others? Are they okay?" I said with concern.

"Why are you concerned about them? You don't really concern about the other members." He said, being puzzled at my question. But I only smiled briefly before I gave him my answer.

"I saw true purity in their innocent hearts. Every member doesn't have that kind of purity. I will explain it to you." I said sincerely. I could see that he was puzzled at my comment. I would explain it to him since it would be better for him to know.

"I have known Lilly since she was a child at play. She really is innocent and she chose a good mate to stay with too. Gust maybe nasty but inside, he has a good kind heart. Neon had a tragic past. But he no longer holds that grudge. And he, too, is compassionate." I said, with a warm smile.

"What's about Neon's mate?" he asked me curiously.

"She is just a vulpix, driven out from her home by her own parents." I said calmly. "Every pokemon stops nurturing its young when the young becomes old enough. And you can't change that fact."

I explained thoroughly since I didn't any further questions. I closed my eyes as I felt a sudden breeze blowing. A flower petal fell on my laps, making me deep in thoughts. Prophet seemed to note this so he kept silent. I wondered that who would take my place when I passed away. Someone should take the place as the leader of the Forest Defenders.

"You know what, Prophet." I said which caused him to tilt his head confusedly.

"A flower grows from a seed. It becomes a plant and forms a bud afterwards. After sometimes, it blooms into a beautiful flower. But even the beautiful flower itself will wither away when the times come." I said.

"Your point is?" Prophet asked and I signed. I read his mind again and found out that he really didn't know what I was talking about.

"Everything in this world is destined to decease. A tree will die eventually when the time comes. A fruit will rotten in the same way. Living creatures shall die when they reached a certain age or because of a disaster or something. In the same way, I might perish someday too." I said, causing Prophet to scowl.

"Oracle, you mustn't say things like that." He warned me warily.

"I know, Prophet. But when I die, I have to find someone who will lead the Forest Defenders with judicious will. You know what I mean, don't you?" I said and he nodded.

"Are you thinking that one of those kids should take your place?" he inquired which made me wondered. I then shook my head since I found that they were not suitable for the job. Neon and Lilly may have mastered their elements but they were still lacking leadership. Gust, on the other hand, may be strong enough even though he hadn't taken control of his element yet. But his personality was the thing that was inappropriate for a leader. Flare was not even a member and she was still far too weak. Those kids could not be suitable. I had to find someone, somehow.

My thoughts were interrupted by a flapping sound of a pair of wings. My sense told me that it was Fly, the flygon. I stood up to welcome the approaching creature. Fly landed on the ground and panted.

"Long time no see, Fly." I said, looking at the green dragon like creature.

"Oracle, my baby has hatched. It is a boy. Can you name him for me?" he said. Why did pokemons sometimes want me to name their kids for them? I knew that gender was completely determinable from their behavior when pokemons were hatched so I didn't have to question him about how he knew. Males would probably crawl to the mother while females to the father.

"Then I will go now, Oracle." Prophet said and I nodded before he vanished. I read Fly's mind to find out where the baby was. It was near the Goldenrod City where Neon's first mission was assigned. He came all way from Johto to Hoenn just to ask me to name his child. I felt so sorry for him to do such a thing. I teleported us to his place without having him say a word. The surroundings had completely changed. I saw a cute baby trapinch, cuddling against the female vibarava. Honestly, I didn't even know who Fly's mate was and I didn't intend to. I just concentrated on naming the kid.

"Will you accept my decision, Fly?" I asked and he nodded. The vibarava seemed to be startled by my sudden appearance but she too nodded.

"Breeze is a good name, the name that represents the wind." I said, smiling. I was glad that I was good at giving names since a lot of pokemons would ask me for it.

"Then it is settled. Welcome to the world, Breeze." Fly said happily, as he lifted his son. His mate seemed to be happy with the name which pleased me. I walked away from the happy family while I could. They would probably ask me to stay with them for some amount of time so it was better not to contact them.

I felt a sudden fear, struck into my mind as I sensed a dark aura. I looked at the direction where I sensed the aura and found out that it was from the base which Neon intruded. It was probably Legion's aura and I felt this sudden danger. I just hoped that Legion wouldn't be planning something evil. However, I teleported out of the place to my home quickly since it would probably be safe if I kept my distance 

away from him. But I was worried since Legion, himself, was very evil. I just hoped things would work out.


	35. Appearance of Fear

**Heat's POV**

I signed as I walked along side with Pain and the so-called "Magmar Army" which consisted of idiots. The crazy ghost offered them something called, "moon stone" in order to gain their service even though I didn't see the use of the stone for them. However, those fools accepted the stone which a crescent shape curved on it. This really sickened me since I had to deal with these idiots! We weren't even near the base yet. We were still in Honnen which meant that we were so far away. That bastard, Terror, hadn't showed up yet. He teleported us here just to gather these fools and now he was nowhere to be found.

"Shouldn't we just wait in one place?" I asked impatiently to the levitating mismagius. But she just continued to float, ignoring me. She really had no point. We had been wandering for a few days, still no sign of Terror. He might be searching for us well but that damned ghost just wanted to wander around. I could not put with this ghost since she made me irate.

"Pain, this is not getting us anywhere!" I shouted, which she stopped as a response. She turned around just to see me frowning with anger. She signed for a reason I didn't know. The army was staring at me with disbelief.

"Terror should be here by now." She said and I blinked. Another ghost appeared in front of us, making me to jump slightly.

"You see, Terror and I have arranged to meet here since he has not finished his business yet." Pain said, smiling. I didn't know that the meeting was this elaborate. However, I was glad that I could leave this place now since I was not very fond of this place.

"So are you ready?" Terror said and all of us nodded. The surrounding around us suddenly changed, revealing our base to us. Terror had vanished as well.

"Wait here, guys. I will arrange a meeting for you." Pain told the Magmar Army to wait. The leader understandingly nodded while the fellow cadets were complaining to the leader. They really looked like weaklings to me. I would come up with an excuse in case Legion berated us. I followed Pain into the base and then into the normal meeting room where Legion was sitting in his place with ease. Terror was already there beside him while Smasher was sitting in the corner of the room with his eyes closed.

"Legion, we have collected a group of fire pokemon called the Magmar Army, consisting of a magmar and his followers, nine magbies." Pain said, raising her head proudly while I had my head drooped down. This was insane. Those weaklings would never satisfy Legion.

"Fire pokemons, huh? Just what I need." Legion said and I blinked in surprise, immediately perking up. What was this idiosyncratic group? This was an infelicity! I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I thought that Legion was fastidious at first but now I was regretting that thought.

"Sir, I have contacted Fear. He will show up any seconds." Terror said and I blinked. Fear was a secret agent of Legion, wasn't he? Why was he showing up in front of a newcomer like me? Even the other members hadn't met him yet except Terror who I assumed to have seen him since he had contacted him.

"What about you, Smasher? Have you determined which forests have the least members?" Legion asked the indifferent Marowak who nodded in reply.

"There is a little forest near the Celadon City in Kanto Region. It contains the fewest members of the Forest Defenders. Preparation of the attack may at least take two days, considering we have to plan meticulously." He said, indifferently. He was still sitting in the corner with his eyes still closed.

"Good job, all of you." Legion said, smirking. I jerked as Yo-yo Boy jumped in front of me. I didn't notice him in the room.

"How did you get here?" I asked, pretty surprised while Pain was giggling because of my humorous behavior.

"He was hiding in that shady area all the time. He is so mischievous so please understand him." Pain said, pointing to a shaded area of the room. I growled in annoyance.

"So, leader, what's about me? Did I do my job?" Yo-yo Boy asked cheerfully. Legion signed and gave him a disappointed look.

"Yo-yo Boy, I don't remember, giving you a mission." He answered; causing Yo-yo Boy to whimper with his face drooped down. A purple ghost like creature, with glittering gems as its eyes and a red gem on its chest and another creature with a trunk and long tusks, standing on four legs which I recognized as a donphan appeared behind Legion. The ghost must be a sableye.

"I would like to introduce you to Fear." Legion said, with a grin. The sableye stepped forwards with a grin.

"What a clean room you got here." He said in a cool way.. I noted that the donphan's eyes were gleaming black, similarly like those of the rattata's before.

"I've never expected Fear to be a sableye." Pain said.

"Fear, what's wrong with that donphan?" I inquired curiously.

"You mean this guy? He's under my control, dude." He said in a funny way, causing me to tilt my head in confusion.

"Watch this!" he said as he clicked his fingers. The donphan's eyes turned normal again.

"What happened?" the donphan asked in a male tone, scanning around the area. He frowned immediately as he noticed the sableye, standing right in front of him.

"Why you, bastard!" he snapped, charging at Fear with very quick speed. Fear immediately jumped on the donphan's back as the donphan nearly hit him. The donphan stopped, trying to shake Fear off his body.

"Chill off, dude. This could be dangerous." Fear scoffed. But I wondered what with that "dude" word? And how the hell he knew that word? I had never heard of it before. Pain must be thinking the same since she was looking awkwardly at Fear. I doubted that there will ever be a single pokemon on the earth that would understand that word.

"Just get off me, you bastard!" the donphan yelled, shaking the sableye off with no success. The sableye smirked as his gem eyes gleamed black, releasing some waves. The donphan's eyes gleamed black again and then he remained still. This explained me a lot. So the rattata was under his control, too. But that was not possible for any pokemon. How did he do that?

"Remember, you all, this is my special ability which I can only use." He said in a cool way again. He really disgusted me. He was trying to be cool despite how he looked. I'd never seen a weirdo like him before.

"Enough with the show!" Legion said impatiently. "Oracle was here. She appeared nearby the base."

Pain and Terror's eyes widened while Smasher opened his eyes dismissively. Yo-yo Boy was dancing around cheerfully, ignoring Legion's words. Who was Oracle?

"Don't worry. She has gone now." He said, looking away from us.

"You can tell because you can sense auras." Pain said, chuckling nervously.

"Oracle and Prophet can do the same. Anyway, Fear, will you join in the battle? Our adversaries are very powerful ones." Legion said with a grin.

"No, dude. I will have this buddy to join the battle. Why dirty your paws while you can use someone else's paws." He said, petting the donphan.

"How many pokemons can you control?" I inquired.

"Only one at a time." The donphan spoke, making me flinch. Then I remembered that rattata spoke the same way.

"Yep, I can make him speak at a whim and his words are true. However, I can't control those who have strong minds, especially those psychic pokemons, dude." He purposely added that "dude" word at the end of his comment which annoyed me very much.

"Anyway, all of you are dismissed," Legion said and all the attendants, including me started to walk away.

"Except you, vulpix!" Legion said which suddenly stopped me. What did he want with me now? He showed me a sign to wait until the others left.

"So you want to beat up another vulpix." He said and I nodded.

"But you simply cannot in your state. Your fire attacks won't work against him. You are a vulpix so you should know." He said.

"Yes, Legion." I replied.

"That's why you are learning a new technique." He said. "But promise me that you will try to give up your vindictive mind."

What did he mean not to hold my grudge against Neon anymore? Just what was he thinking?

"Why should I?" I snarled.

"You will understand someday. Now will you promise me that?" he said, still looking away from me.

"Okay." I said flatly. I didn't understand what he meant but I promised him since I wanted to see what technique he was going to teach me.

"We will start tomorrow then." He said. "You are dismissed now."

The gengar surely was mysterious and suspicious. I turned around and prepared to leave until I heard he muttered something.

"A beautiful flower has its beauty and usefulness. An ugly flower may be ugly on the outside but its usefulness as well might be better than that of the beautiful one. Oracle, you are going to meet that ugly flower as your enemy." Legion muttered.


	36. Floret's Luck

**Let's see how Floret was doing on her journey. Will she find Gust?**

**Floret's POV**

By the time the ship had docked at the harbor city of Kanto, it was early morning. It took three days to arrive at the city and those days were terrible. My stomach never stopped growling. I hadn't eaten a single thing during those days so I must be looking gaunt on the outside. I really felt hungry. Finding water on the ship was not a problem but foraging was a difficult thing. The chefs were bad, eating all the leftovers. There was no varmint on the ship which I could hunt. In the end, I got nothing to eat. I got out from the ship and started to walk with no destination. I could feel my feet, trembling weakly due to my starvation. But I had to keep on walking with a strong determination to find Gust. The jetty surely was crowded and I barely had enough strength now. Before I could exit the jetty, I finally collapsed due to my intense hunger and my lack of strength. Food….. Food…… if only I could have some food. A light of hope shone in my eyes as I saw a young human boy with some sort of flexible container on his back, walking towards me.

"What a gaunt poor umbreon." He said, lifting me up by the stomach in his hands. I didn't want to get lifted up. He held me in his arms. I just wanted food… delicious food…. tasty food. Whatever it was, it was fine if it was edible. Please give me some food.

"I'd better take you to the pokemon center." He said, carrying me away. I didn't want to go anywhere and I had no clue of what kind place it was. I just wanted some food. But it was no use. I couldn't tell him since he probably wouldn't understand even if I did so. But somehow, I was relieved, knowing that I was going to live now due to his auspicious appearance. I closed my eyes, starting to relax since it was the only thing I could do now. I soon fell asleep in his warm arms.

The next thing I knew was that when I woke up, I was on some sort of soft and bouncy land on a four-legged bed-like iron thing. I could see some apples in a bowl on a table beside the bed I was on. I was so happy because of the sight of food. I grabbed some and ate it greedily. After some time, I had eaten all the apples in the bowl. I burped, showing the sign that I was full. I jumped down from the bed and walked to a door in my sight, wondering where it would lead. I jerked as the door slowly opened, revealing the boy from before. He hadn't got the container with him anymore. I didn't stay alarmed since I felt that I was safe.

"So you are awake." He said, lifting me up again but I didn't complain. I was grateful to him so I didn't anything that would threaten him. He took me out of the room and to a hall. There were some people, walking here and there. The boy walked towards a young-looking man, sitting on a chair by a window.

"Hey, Tom, have a seat." the man said to the boy. Now I could assume the boy's name was Tom. Tom sat on a chair besides the man, putting me on his laps. I yawned, and curled up on his laps. I didn't know why but I become sleepy immediately after he put me on his laps. And in addition to this, the stranger thing was that I couldn't fall asleep despite my sleepiness. So I decided to eavesdrop on the conversation between Tom and the man by pretending to be asleep.

"So how's the umbreon?" the man said.

"Well, it is fine now as you can see. Hey uncle, can you pass me my backpack?" Tom said. So the man was Tom's uncle but he seemed too young to be his uncle. I couldn't see any actions since I had my eyes closed. I could just hear the noise of him, taking something. Maybe that container was what they called "backpack".

"This umbreon is a female." A robotic voice said and I jerked as I was startled. I was still on Tom's laps but who was the third speaker!? I scanned around and saw no one.

"I scared you, didn't I?" Tom laughed and I blinked in confusion. This time, he was holding some sort of square-shaped device with many buttons and a small hole on it, barred and a red bulb, sticking out from a metallic stick at the top of it. He then pointed the bulb towards me and pressed a button on it. The device spoke in a similar robotic voice.

"This umbreon is a female." The hole seemed to the source of the sound. I was kind of amazed by this miraculous device. I curled up again, this time with my eyes, wide opened.

"This scanner can distinguish a pokemon's species and its gender. It can also locate a specific kind of pokemon." Tom said, smiling.

"The technology is getting better nowadays. Anyway, what are you going to do with the umbreon?" the man asked Tom who paused out for a moment.

"Perhaps I can keep her as a pet." Tom replied finally. I scowled as I heard his comment. I didn't come all way to be kept by an unknown human. My tail started to flicker in irritation. If I wasn't grateful to him, I would just run off.

"That's a wise decision. You get a shiny umbreon and since you will be staying with me for a year, Lightning won't be lonely by itself anymore." The man agreed with Tom, irritating me more. I didn't do anything because Tom owned me my life.

"Uncle Jeffery, how do you know that it is lonely?" Tom asked curiously. So the man's name was Jeffery.

"Well, it even made some friends with some wild pokemons. Last time, he even brought two vulpixs, a leafeon and a vaporeon." Jeffery answered. My ears perked up as I heard the word "leafeon" from his mouth. It could be Gust. I must not miss this chance of meeting this leafeon. I had made my decision that I would reluctantly become Tom's pet and then of course, I would abandon him afterwards.

"I hope she wants to stay with me." Tom said.

"Let the umbreon decides." Jeffery said. Tom wore the backpack on his back again and lifted me up again and carried me to the outdoor and Jeffery followed. Tom then put me down on the ground and both of them started walking away. I knew that they were testing whether I wanted to follow them or not. I smirked and ran after them. When I caught up with them, I shifted my weight on Tom's leg, showing him the sign that I wanted to be kept by him. The boy smiled and lifted me up and held me on his arms.

"So you really want to be my pet?" Tom said excitedly. I started to nuzzle to get attention from him.

"Maybe she really is addicted to you." Jeffery laughed. Yeah, I really was addicted…… for now.

"Uncle, when will we arrive in Celadon City?" Tom asked.

"Well, it is half past six now. So we will probably arrive at eleven o'clock." Jeffery replied. But I didn't care a thing about their conservation. This was just great. I got to meet a leafeon who might be Gust and I didn't have to walk anymore since Tom was carrying me around. So I could call it free transportation. Despite the adversity I faced on the boat, this was just the best.


	37. Females

**Neon's POV**

I lied down and watch the others, having their lunch. Time quickly passed, and it was noon. Lightning was a really gregarious jolteon once I got to know him. However, he had to elude any eye contact with Lilly or otherwise he would surely get the indictment from the "overprotective" Gust, himself. The more I thought about Gust, the more inconsistent I found him to be. He told me once that he remembered the night when he first met Lilly but he said he only befriended Lilly the next day. And he also said that he would not tell us about the details. Maybe, he only did because I insisted him to do so. I should make myself clear and ask him about it. Luckily, I could see him that he had just finished his lunch. I walked to him just to ask him some questions.

"Gust, no offense but you once said to me that you met Lilly at the full moon night. According to your story…" I was interrupted as Flare nuzzled her head against my neck. I didn't notice her, approaching me. But I put my paw on her shoulder just to assure her that she had my attention.

"Well, you see, I really did meet her before the rain started." He said, grinning, causing me to blink me in confusion. He really didn't have such great time that night. The rain made him, shivering in cold. That night must have been terrible for him and yet he thought of it as a memorial night. He was very unusual. And speaking of which, I hadn't heard him whistling with a leaf. I wondered how it sounded like.

"Can you play that soothing melody that you played for Lilly?" I asked, wanting to hear.

"No way!" Gust yelled back. His cold reply kind of shocked me. Maybe he was not in the mood.

"Why's that?" Flare asked with a slight disappointment in her tone. Maybe she was willing to hear the melody as much as I was.

"I only play it for those who are dear to me." He said.

"So you've already liked Lilly by the time she flirted with you." I scoffed which caused him to blush. Lilly walked to Gust and gave him a lick in the cheek. She then nuzzled her head against his neck affectionately.

"Please, won't you at least play it for me?" Lilly said, looking at Gust's face, with her teary eyes. Gust must somehow felt uneasy. It was all written on his face and I could see that clearly. But I had never seen Lilly, faking those kinds of eyes.

"Fine!" Gust groaned as he plucked a leaf from his body. Lilly winked at me for some reason. He then started to whistle with it. It surely was a beautiful and soothing melody but why was he hiding it? I motioned to Lilly to question her.

"It seems perfect to me but why doesn't he play it often?" I whispered so that I wouldn't disturb Gust.

"You see, Gust never wants to admit that he can play a great melody. So he practically finds some excuses whenever someone asks about it. For some reason, he plays it whenever I ask him to do so." Lilly whispered back. This indicated that Gust truly valued Lilly's love. Flare had closed her eyes, enjoying the music and Lightning was doing the same. I did the same as them. It was just very beautiful. I quickly opened my eyes as the music suddenly stopped.

"Why did you stop the music?" I asked.

"I just did what I wanted. Anyway, are you satisfied with the melody?" Gust replied and I nodded.

"I am." A female voice said. I turned around to the direction of the sound and saw an umbreon with blue rings instead of yellow.

"Long time no see, Gust and your music is as sweet as always." She said. Did she know Gust? It was quite confusing.

"Who are you and how do you know my name?" Gust demanded but the umbreon, nevertheless, approached Gust.

"Just as I suspected, you really don't recognize me at all." She said as she knew Gust for a long time. Who was this lady, demanding that she knew Gust?

"Winter always praised me for being nice, don't you remember?" she said and all of us, including Lightning, looked at the peculiar pokemon in confusion while Gust looked at her in disbelief.

"Hello, but I don't really think that we know you. But you are welcome here" Lilly said uneasily and yet in a polite way.

"Are you Floret by any chance?" Gust asked, surprising all of us. Did he really know this female?

"At last, you remember me. Yes, I am Floret." The umbreon said.

"You have evolved into an umbreon. No wonder, I didn't recognize you." Gust said with a slight happiness in his tone. I've never heard Gust's voice in this way. Someone poked me and I jerked, startled. It was just Lightning, but I didn't notice him, approaching me.

"Is Gust okay?" he said and I shrugged in reply.

"Anyway, what are you doing here?" Gust inquired with a slight grin while Lilly was studying them.

"I just came here to look for you, Gust." Floret replied and she started to nuzzle her head against Gust's neck. Gust really seemed to be popular.

"Do you really know her?" Lilly said, looking uncomfortable. She must be jealous somehow.

"Well, she is my sister so don't worry." Gust said, smiling.

"You should say it properly that I am your mate." Floret said and all of us, including Gust, blinked our eyes. This was awkward. Lilly frowned and growled angrily but she never showed the sign of attacking Floret. However, I once knew that this was going be one jocular comedy.

"That would be inbreeding." Gust replied with a high tone with a slight anger in it.

"Come on, Gust. We are not related by blood so we can become mates, can't we?" Floret insisted and got a beam of strong water in her face which pushed her several feet backwards.

"Trying to make someone to become your mate in front of his mater, herself, is extremely rude! And I hate boors like you!" Lilly said angrily, taking a battle pose.

"You are the one who is impolite, attacking a guest." Floret snarled back. Gust sneaked out of the battle field, without being noticed by the two angry females. Only after he was besides me, assuring his safety, he yelled. I had never seen Gust, acting so cowardly.

"After all my chronic efforts of mating Gust, I cannot simply give you what you want." Lilly sneered, causing Floret to growl.

"Hey, listen to me, both of you." Gust shouted, with concerned and got two fiery glares from each of them in return.

"You make a right choice, Gust. Never get involved in the females' battle. You will only get hurt." Lightning said and I nodded in agreement.

Floret made the first move, spitting a dark energy ball which I assumed to be a Shadow Ball at Lilly who retaliated with a Water Pulse. The two projectiles collided and exploded. I took back what I thought. This wasn't funny at all. This was scary. This battle seemed to be fiercer than the one between Gust and Lightning who battled over a similar matter. Flare was clinging on me, being terrified. To be truthful, I had never seen Lilly, so angry before. Floret lunged herself to bite Lilly.

"Don't get so conceited!" Lilly snarled and batted her harmfully, throwing her a distance. I was amazed by her comment since she even insulted without using naughty words. What a civilized vaporeon! And I didn't want to watch this battle longer as it was getting more serious. So I decided to ask Lightning some questions. I shouldn't probably ask Gust who was being prized this time.

"Hey, Lightning, why do females hunt for mates?" I inquired.

"This isn't the right time and you should know that!" Lightning replied angrily. I looked around to make sure nobody was listening.

"Well, you see, I don't really want to watch that intense battle for a stupid reason. So I just want to kill the time." I whispered. I looked at the battle again where Floret was dodging the water balls and then she spat a Shadow Ball which caught Lilly by the tail and exploded, causing Lilly to wince in pain.

"Lilly!" Gust yelled with concern. Lightning seemed to be unpleasant by this. I simply didn't like females, getting hurt. I gently pushed Flare away and signaled her to have a conversation. The three of us turned around, trying our best not to set an eye on the battle.

"Okay, you were saying.." Lightning said which showed that it was the best thing if we ignored the battle.

"Why do females search for mates?" I asked again.

"You see, it is just female's instinct and mating is a part of subsistence. In fact, there is a period of time called 'mating fever' which occurs in females." He said. Just why did he know so much after he was bred by a human? And what was "mating fever"?

"Excuse me, what is 'mating fever'?" Flare asked.

"You really don't know? You should know about it since every pokmon do. But even pokemons didn't know about it first. Many years ago, human biologists studied and discovered an unusual period in females. I don't know how they distinguish gender that time, since there possibly couldn't be any good 

devices. However, in this period, the females become usually excitable and starve for mates. Males suffer because of the females' unusual and persistence efforts, trying to get a kiss. The females, themselves, are unaware this time, not knowing who the males are. The period will end when they get a kiss or two months. But those who don't get the kiss, this period will occur annually at a specific time. And that time is different for each pokemon but the significant symptoms of 'mating fever' are the same. First, a female in this fever will start to drool often on the first day but they are still aware of themselves and who they are with. But on the second day and the rest of the fever, this female will start to show extreme affectionate towards a single male she sees. She will stop drooling and continue to sleep, eat and drink like usual but she will try her hardest. Even the female, herself, suffer during this fever, since she is unable to control herself. And males run away for females in this fever, because they don't want to bonded to individuals they don't love." Lightning explained.

Why did he know so much? Was he really a human bred? And he seemed to know more than a normal pokemon.

"Well, I surely don't want to go through that period." Flare said.

"How old are you?" Lightning inquired.

"Next week, I am going to be one and nine months." Flare said. So Flare was four months younger than me. However, I still loved her.

"The fever occurs only after two years of age. And I believe you and your mate have kissed." Lightning said and both Flare and I blushed.

"How do you know?" I demanded.

"Well, yesterday, Flare asked me about an accidental kiss which Lilly answered her. So I can assume that you two have kissed even if it is an accident. And this 'mating fever' doesn't occur in those who have a kiss. " He explained and my blush intensified.

"So this is part of the survival, my parents were talking about. But then what if Neon meets a female in this fever and is forced to kiss, will he be okay?" Flare asked and I became suddenly terrified. What if she was true?

"Oh, don't worry about that. Even females in 'fever' don't go for males who already have a kiss with someone. I don't really know how they figure out during their hunger for mates." Lightning said which made me relieved. However, he really knew too much for a human bred pokemon. Even Flare and I didn't know about it. But I couldn't tell if those other threes know about it.

"Alright, Mr. Know-it-all. Let's heed back to the prized Gust." I said sarcastically. We once again focused on the battle. The females were already panting exhaustively while Gust was baring his teeth with depression. Few tears were falling from his eyes, showing his sadness. The two females lunged towards each other again.

"Enough!" Gust shouted, two long vines emerging from his body. Each vine wrapped each girl tightly. He then threw them apart. He then ran and stood in front of Lilly. Both females stood on their feet again but this time, they were not trying to attack each other but in fact, gave Gust serious looks.

"I will confess one thing, Floret. I have never wanted you to be my mate. I only see and foster you as my sister. Only Lilly is my mate." He said harshly with a high tone and then pulled Lilly into a hug, causing her to blink in surprise while Floret was staring at him, sadly as she started to cry.

"We have already kissed, so just give up on me. If you don't believe, I will show you." Gust shouted, pulling Lilly into a kiss. He actually did it in front of the whole crowd. Even Flare was amazed by his courage. Now I was starting to envy him due to his courage.

"Wow, Gust surely is courageous." Even Lightning admitted. I felt kind of sorry for Floret, who was now crying and sobbing in vain. But she showed no sign of running away which surprised me. Girls usually ran away when they were upset.

"I see, Gust. You berate me many times but this is the harshest one. I should have known that you would actually find a mate of your own. I shouldn't have been too stubborn." She sobbed.

"And jolteon, Jeffery is calling for you." She sobbed again and Lightning's eyes narrowed in surprise. Even I was surprised. How did she know Lightning's master, Jeffery?

"You are coming with me, Floret." Lightning said, dragging the umbreon along. This really was a very confusing and depressing day even though Gust's melody was sweet.


	38. No More Freedom

**Floret's POV**

It took me the whole day to get over my depression. The next dawn, I got up and prepared to leave. I didn't have a reason to stay in Jeffery's house anymore and I didn't want to be kept as a pet. I had decided that I would just roam free without any destination, like a wanderer. I truly had no one to go to. Gust had already found a mate, so I couldn't properly stay with him now. I went over to the main door of the house to get out. But Lightning was already awake and he was five feet in front of the door. He gave me an indifferent look.

"Just where are you going, Floret?" he said monotonously, licking his own paw.

"Well, I am going out for a walk." I said flatly, walking past him.

"It is too early for a walk, isn't it?" Lightning countered and I gave him an annoyed glare in return. He must be suspicious of me or he must already know what I was thinking about.

"You know, just stay out of my business." I said to the electric pokemon, who looked at me indifferently. He then, grinned, trying to cool.

"Just what do you think you are doing, umbreon?" he said and winked an eye at me, trying to be attractive without success. His face looked ugly. That was disgusting. I signed in disappointment and continued to walk. His face turned serious.

"Floret, I know what you are trying to do and I also know that I have no right to stop you. But if your absence will make Tom upset and that is why I cannot let you leave." Lightning said as he bit my tail, dragging me back. I winced as a sudden pain struck through me. I shook my tail with force, throwing him to a nearby table, with a crashing sound. A painting was torn apart. Tom wasn't even his master and yet he tried to stop me. I continued to make my way through, knowing that he wouldn't be up. But to my surprise, he jumped in front of me, blocking my way.

"Look here, Lightning. I don't know about your relationship with that boy but I have decided that I am going to leave now. And no one can change my decision." I said flatly.

"Well, any relative of Jeffery is my master and friend. Speaking of friend, friends don't want each other to be upset, do they?" he said, with a sneer. I growled and bared my teeth. He should go to hell with his stupid theories. I lunged forwards, trying to bite him. But when I caught him on the back, I had to give up my plan since his quills stung me, causing me to wince in pain. I retreated backwards and growled.

"You can't bite my back, umbreon. The quills will only sting you." He said with a sneer again. He was getting cocky and I hated my adversary, to be like this.

"Then what about this?" I snarled and spat a shadow ball at him which exploded at his face. I assumed this to be quite effective but the electric pokemon lunged at me, out of the smoke and released Thundershock at me which caught me directly. I screamed in pain. And then he slammed into me, hurling me back against a small table. A container with flowers fell on my head and shattered with a cracking sound. I stood up on my feet once more to deal with him.

"What's up with the noise?" I heard someone, running to the living room. Crap… I would definitely be caught. Jeffery ran into the room, followed by Tom and stared at us with surprise. He then frowned at us.

"Just what're you two doing?" he yelled at us, causing us to flinch.

"You, two, surely messed this up." Tom said, gestured to us and picked up the shattered pieces. I grunted as I knew that there was going to be trouble. On the inside, I blamed the jolteon for everything.

"It is your fault, you idiot!" I yelled angrily at him.

"My fault? What about yours?" he yelled back. I jumped at him but was grabbed by Jeffery on the back of the neck. He lifted me up but I still continued to bared my teeth at Lightning which he returned by growling at me. Jeffery grabbed Lightning in a similar way with the other hand.

"What's wrong with you two?" he said. I swatted my paw towards Lightning even though I knew that it was useless. But still, I felt very angry towards him. Lightning was swatting his paw as well.

"Just cut it out!" he shouted. We stopped swatting towards each other but still bared our teeth.

"I have no choice then." He said, putting us down. He then put a collar around my neck and one around Lightning's. He then chained the collars which in turn chaining us. My eyes widened as I understood the situation. I couldn't possibly escape now.

"Lightning, you are a male, aren't you? So please get along with the female, okay?" Jeffery said, to Lightning who whimpered. I snickered, since he was just berated.

"And you, if you ever harm him again, you will regret it." Jeffery scolded me and I scowled. This collar and chain was very inconvenient. I wonder how that female vulpix wore the collar all the time even though she wasn't chained.

"I hate you." I said angrily as I lied down. My face and ears drooped down.

"The same applies here." Lightning replied angrily and lied down in a similar manner. Now I couldn't get away from this crazy theorist now. He really was stubborn, not letting me go out there. The only way I could escape was to convince to escape with me.

"Don't you want to escape from this narrow place?" I inquired lazily.

"I swear to myself that I will never escape or run away from my true friend, Jeffery even if it means the end of my life." He replied. I looked at him blankly. This guy was dumb and stupid. How would I ever get out of this mess?


	39. The Arguing Eons

I lied down and that stupid theorist did the same. I still needed to convince that idiot to follow me. Since we were chained up, that was the only way. And I wanted to escape as soon as possible. But then, how would we remove the chain? It was a problem.

"Don't you want to leave?" I inquired lazily. Somehow Jeffery was amazing since he was able to put the collar around Lightning's neck despite the fact that it was just above the spiky part of Lightning. It amazed me so much. He somehow was bonded to this jolteon and I needed to know what kind of bond it was.

"Why do you care for that human very much?" I asked another question but Lightning only grunted in reply. I really hated him when he did so I bit his ear painfully, which made him growl at me.

"Stop doing that!" he snapped. But I stuck my tongue at him and he growled more. He lunged himself at me and pinned me to the ground.

"No growling in this house." Jeffery said. He stopped from having his breakfast and stood up just to look at the two of us. He then kneed down and looked at us and smiled while Tome was still having his breakfast.

"The Lightning I know is vivacious and good tempered." He said. "Now come here, both of you."

Lightning walked to him. This left me no choice but to walk to Jeffery as well since we were "chained". He then petted Lightning's head which made me kind of jealous. Why was he praising Lightning so much?

"I know both of your genders, thanks to Tom's scanner. Since you two have opposite genders, you two should get along very well." He said, smiling. He removed his hand from Lightning's head and then petted me.

"I would never get along with a stupid dame like you." Lightning grunted. As soon as Jeffery's hand was removed, I stood up and brushed my tail against his head. I then stepped on his paw on purpose, causing him to yelp which was followed the angry growl.

"You shouldn't be like that, umbreon." Tom said. Like I would care about what he said.

"Apologize to him immediately." Jeffery said with a frown. and Lightning grinned, satisfied since he had Jeffery's support. I stared at him blankly and decided to insult him more since I knew that he wouldn't probably understand my word.

"You are just one foolish jolteon, bonded to a stupid human." I scoffed with a sneer which caused him to growl, baring his teeth. Get along with this idiot….. that would never happen in my life.

"You are not apologizing, umbreon. And try act friendlier towards each other." Jeffery said and Lightning immediately pulled me to his side, some of the quills stung me in the process. I knew that he did this on purpose. He then ran his paw down my back. I knew that he was just faking it.

"This is just to get out of this messed. I still hate you." He whispered and I scowled. But I just nuzzled my head against his. I couldn't nuzzle his neck because of the thorns. I really hated to be forced to do what I didn't want.

"Don't steal my lines, you idiot." I whispered back.

"That's my girl!" Tom cheered. But I ignored his comment.

"See, this is more like it." Jeffery said, resuming his work. I pushed Lightning away and got as far as I could.

"Let's take a walk. If we stay here, we will soon be berated due to our quarrels." He said and I nodded.

"This is the only thing I could agree on." I replied irritably and let him lead the way. We walked to the main door and to the outside. I still needed to convince him to follow me.

"Let's leave while we can." I encouraged him to do so but he only shook his head. Why was he so stubborn? Didn't he want to be free? Why was he bonded to this human very much? He led me out of the town. As soon as he led me out, he turned towards me and grinned.

"Let's settle our score." He said, taking a battle pose.

"You need a referee to settle a score." A creepy male voice said and my fur bristled as I suddenly felt startled. A pokemon with a skull as his face and a red ghost like body appeared in front of me which made me jerked in fear and alarmed, pulling the electric pokemon in process because of the chain.

"Don't do that, Skull. We are chained here." Lightning said as if he knew this pokemon. I soon recognized him as a duskull and an unusual one, too since he had a red body.

"Yo ho ho ho ho….. Sorry, Lightning." He laughed. Did he always laugh like that? That "yo ho ho" sounded very creepy. But the jolteon seemed to know this creepy guy. Just what the hell was he?


	40. Successful Escape

"Yo ho ho ho ho…" the duskull laughed again, making me flinched once more. My fur bristled of fear.

"You deserve that!" Lightning said, burst off into laughter which really angered me. But that duskull surely was scary and creepy and I had no one to rely on. Lightning seemed to be more duskull's side than mine. I stammered and turned away from the duskull and Lightning.

"So why are you chained up, old friend?" I heard the duskull's creepy voice, saying to the jolteon.

"It's all because of her." Lightning said and I turned and frowned at him. Why was he blaming on me? He was the one who stopped me in the first place and I could not forgive him for that. He wasn't benevolent enough to let me go either. I walked and looked at eye to eye.

"Look here, mister. You are the one who's at fault. Why don't you let me go in the first place? You are the cause of all of these problems. And the reason why Jeffery chained us up was because you were cooperative." I said angrily and both the duskull and the jolteon flinched.

"Your mate surely is an aggressive one. Yo ho ho ho…" Duskull immediately stopped flinching and laughed again. He should stop doing that now.

"No way!" Both Lightning and I shouted in unison. I didn't know if it was intentional or not but I felt really blasted. That jerk was my mate... just go to hell! There was no way that I was going to stay with him forever. In fact, I wanted someone who I would be able to cuddle with and Lightning surely wasn't the one since he had those spiky quills all over his body.

"I will never mate with a stupid night-hunter like you!" He snarled and I frowned more. Even though I was an umbreon, I didn't like hunting for a prey at night.

"And I don't want to mate with a hedgehog either." I snarled back.

"Hedgehog?!" he said angrily with a raise in eyebrow. He even bared his teeth at me and I just ignored that.

"Yes! You are a hedgehog!" I scoffed again, being satirical.

"If you ask for my opinion, I think the lady is right. You look like a hedgehog because of your quills." Duskull said, causing Lightning to turn away and drooped down in depression.

"First, I was just trying to make a friend happy, by stopping his nephew's pokemon from escaping. Now, even you have betrayed me." He sobbed. When did he become very sentimental? A tear felt from his eyes and sparkled. The duskull suddenly cried also.

"Sorry, friend. I should have been helpful when you were in distress." the duskull cried and approached Lightning. He held Lightning's chin with his little paws.

"Please forgive me my friend." He said and Lightning looked up with teary eyes.

"I always do." Lightning replied and pulled him into a friendly hug. Yuck… that was just disgusting. Lightning, being sentimental, was very disgusting. And it was painful just to think that Duskull actually hugged the spiky hedgehog like himself. I blamed myself for being chained up with an idiot like him.

"Dazzling friendship indeed." I said sarcastically. I turned away, not wanting to look at the fools. Duskull suddenly appeared in front of me, causing me to jumped backwards directly into Lightning's arm. He looked at me and my face turned red.

"You really are a chicken." He said, grinning. Why did they get separated? And how did he stop crying so suddenly? I thought he was hurt emotionally.

"Get away from me." I said, pushing him backwards slightly. "Are you trying to harass a lady sexually?"

"No, I am just trying to introduce you to my friend, Skull." He said, pointing to the duskull who was waving at me. So Skull was his name. It was very creepy.

"Yo ho ho…. Nice to meet you, Miss." He said with that creepy laughter again. Lightning sat beside me.

"Don't worry. He's the one who taught me about many things. He knew that I was a human bred pokemon so he thought that I should know things that a normal pokemon should know." He explained.

"Yep, and I am going to tell you about one thing today." The duskull said, grinning.

"Today, I am going to tell you about the Ghost Hunters." He said creepily, startling him. But who were the Ghost Hunters? Even I as a nature-raised pokemon, didn't know about it.

"There are two wandering pokemon twin brothers who always hate ghosts. Both of them are about seven years old, I think. I killed every ghost they see in their way. So even I, as a ghost pokemon, have to be careful not to meet them." Skull said. Were there really such brothers?

"Thanks, Skull. You really gave me some knowledge again." Lightning said, bowing his head.

"It is always my pleasure. Bye now.. yo ho ho ho" he laughed. His laugh faded along with him.

"Let's go home." Lightning said to me and I blinked. I didn't really have a true home. I was just temporarily staying at his.

"But I don't have one." I replied.

"From now on, my home is yours as well. I am not letting you leave home unless without your family. Don't tell me that you don't have a family. Jeffery and Tom are your family now." He said and I blinked. Whatever he said, I was still going to run away.

"Don't you really want to roam free in this world?" I inquired, sounding disappointed.

"I would rather be with someone I love than being alone." He answered. "Now let's go home. I am getting hungry. And I bet you are, too."

My stomach growled and I chuckled nervously. Come to think of it, I still hadn't had breakfast. And it was time for lunch.

"Then it's settled. Let's go home." he said, slowly striding away. I really wanted to roam free but then I was going to be alone. At least, I didn't want to stay with this jerk. Maybe I could stay with Gust and the others for awhile.

"Don't get zoned out. I can't leave without you, sitting there." Lightning said impatiently. I noticed that our chain was at its reach. So I stood and we went to Jeffery's house together.

The lunch surely was delicious with the food from the can. Lightning said that it was chocolate flavor pokemon food. I didn't care what it was at all. Instead, I stole some food from Lightning's plate which led us to a quarrel. Jeffery found me, biting Lightning's ear and Lightning biting my tail.

"I will have you two, chained until you get along." He warned, taking the plates back. I really couldn't get along with Lightning. Our dinner led us to a similar event except that Lightning was the one to steal my food, claiming that it was the payback for afternoon. So we fought over food again, causing Jeffery and Tom to berate us. I hated him so that I even fell asleep with my back turned against him.

I woke up at dawn again. I found out that Jeffery had removed the chain. Maybe he did because we had fallen asleep. This was a nice opportunity and I made a run for it. Lightning was asleep that time so I managed to sneak out of the house. Once I was outside of the house, I ran as fast as I could to where I last met with Gust.


	41. The Mysterious Smoke

**Lilly's POV**

I woke up and found that Gust was still asleep. Flare was cuddling against Neon's chest and all of them were not alarmed. The day before yesterday, wasn't really a nice day and I was starting to doubt Gust at that time. But I was astonished to find out that Gust had lived with Floret for many years and considered her as his sister, not his mate when he told me his life story yesterday. He said that he didn't want to me doubt him. Maybe I shouldn't. After all, we had already two kisses and both of them were intentional. I walked over to the stream and looked at my reflection. I really started to think about that fight between me and her. If she was Gust's sister, I shouldn't have attacked her. Even if she claimed Gust to her mate, I should have been more patient and explained her about everything. This made everyone upset and I was very impolite in front of my best friends, including Lightning. Maybe I wasn't civilized at all. Disappointment fell over my mind.

"Hey, why are you up so early?" I heard Gust's voice and turned around and noted that he was already right behind me. I then stared at the reflection again. Gust gestured to me and sat beside me.

"And what's with that long face?" he asked, noting my sadness.

"Nothing really." I replied, not wanting him to share my sadness and disappointment. He held my paw in his and looked at me with concern which made me really felt nervous.

"Just tell me, Lilly." He said. Should I really tell him how I doubted him? Why was I really boorish back then? I was not meant to be like that in the crowd. And what would Gust think of me if he found out how I felt? He loved the vaporeon who was polite, not the boor one. Besides, would he hate me if he found out?

"Hey, don't get zoned out." Gust said, waving his paw in front of my eyes.

"I prefer not telling you the reason." I whimpered. Gust pulled me into his arm and let my head rested on his chest. He gave me a lick in the forehead and smiled at me.

"Just trust me and tell me about it. I won't do anything." he insisted, showing his lovely eyes which I could not resist. Tears started to drip from my eyes as I thought more about it. I shoved him and started to cry out loudly, hiding my face in my paws.

"Sorry, Gust! I doubted you back then when Floret first appeared in front of us. You really would hate me now." I sobbed. "And that's not all. Everyone would think I am rude now, attacking someone at first sight is very impolite."

I looked at Gust who had raised an eyebrow and staring at me with disbelief. Maybe he hated me now.

"Is that all?" he inquired and I nodded which he responded with laughter, making me confused.

"Come here, you!" he said playfully, pulling me into a hug, surprising me.

"You really are an idiosyncratic one. Why would your own mate, I, hate a civilized little vaporeon like you?" he said, tightening his hug. He really didn't hate me for this? He released the hug and gently touched my face with his paw. He then approached and licked my tears.

"These tears maybe salty but they are nothing compared to the Petaya berries." He whispered into my ears and chuckled. He then distanced his head away from mine.

"You really shouldn't be upset over this small matter. And in fact, you are the most civilized one." He said with a kind smile. "Now don't waste anymore tears because they are very precious."

I nuzzled my head against his neck and he put his paw over my shoulder in return. He really cheered me up and gave me back my hope.

"Is it just me or is there really a fire around?" I heard Neon's voice and turned around and noted that he was awake. He was sniffing and we started to sniff. My nose caught some smoke which made me cough a little. Flare coughed a little and woke up. We looked at the sky and saw some smoke coming from the west of our place. Oracle suddenly appeared in front of me.

"What's happening? I was in the neighborhood and saw some smoke and…" she blurted and suddenly paused. She then closed her eyes and then scowled.

"This is no good. There are enemies around us." She said warily and I blinked. What did she meant?

"Gust, go north and prevent two pokemons from chopping the trees down." She ordered. Gust seemed to be surprised, too. He stared at her in confusion.

"Just go now, Gust!" she yelled. Only then Gust ran to the direction of north and slowly disappeared in the forest.

"Flare, you stay here and don't go anywhere. There are dangers around us." Oracle said. I had never seen her so worried before. She usually was calm and wise but now she was very hasty now.

"Neon, you are coming with me. And Lilly, go and stop the fire." She said and vanished along with Neon. What the hell had happened here? Nevertheless, I stopped thinking about what had happened and started to run in the direction of west. That smoke somehow seemed suspicious like if someone had ignited some trees. I really must find out why Oracle was acting really weird. She seemed to be scared of someone or something. Even when some trees were chopped down, she normally wasn't this concerned but now she hastily gave us the orders and confused us. What was she up to? Was there something she was afraid to tell us? And what did she meant by we were surrounded? I hoped I could get an answer to all of this mess since it was really confusing me now.


	42. Lilly's Adversity

I still didn't know what Oracle was worried about but I should focus on what I was doing. Even my action, according to Oracle's order was vague. But I was more concerned about the fire. Who was the cause of the fire or what was? I ran at top speed. I felt the heat was turning up showing that I was closer to the fire. To my horror, there were a magmar and a group of magbies, burning the tree down. In the scene, there were four terrified little squirtles, paralyzed in shock. It was no surprising since the fire even scared me. I snapped out of my fear, reminding myself to be strong mentally. I stored up my courage and yelled at me.

"What do you think you are doing?" I got their attention but I didn't know what to do.

"Hey, guys! Look! That chick is asking what we are doing." One of the magbies mocked.

"Of course, we are burning the forest." Another said and all of them laughed except the magmar. Was that their real purpose? They were going to burn the forest? I started to bear my hatred towards them. This forest was not only my home but also for many other pokemons as well. When I moved to this forest I met different kinds of pokemon, living in this forest, in peace and harmony. But doing this will only cause a disaster. Many pokemons might die due to the conflagration. Even if they survived, they would be homeless. Then what about the young ones, they might lose their parents. I grunted, baring my teeth. I knew that I couldn't one against this many. This was a battle of one against… six, no ten pokemons. Even though I had an advantage over fire, I was not sure if I could defeat this many. I jerked in alarm as a burning branch fell in front of me. I shouldn't have been zoned out. The fire was here already.

"Stop this immediately, you guys! This can start a big forest fire!" I demanded but they only laughed. The squirtles were trembling but they were not hurt.

"Squirtles!" I shouted. "Don't just stand there! Try to kill the fire!"

Only then, the squirtles ran and watered the burning tree, trying the best they could. I, too, made a move quickly and tried to kill the fire with a huge burst of water. Even though, some of the trees were not burning anymore, there are many others.

"This vaporeon seems to be a tough customer. I will deal with her while you, soldiers, burn the forest." I heard the magmar's command and I took a battle pose. Maybe this was a better idea. If I had defeated all the fire pokemons one by one, then there would be no one to keep the fire burning. But even if I defeated the magmar, there were still four magbies and they might attack me all at once which meant that I was at a disadvantage. Even now I had to heed on them so they would not get me off guard. This must be the reason why Oracle was worried.

"You should be honored since the leader, himself, challenged you." The magmar scoffed and I growled. I immediately launched a water pulse at him. He jumped out of the way and the projectile hit one of the burning trees and killed the fire. I smirked, knowing that my water pulse was very strong.

"What an impressive amount of energy." The magmar said.

"Thank you for appreciation." I replied, not wanting to be rude. I had to show everyone that I was civilized vaporeon.

"Try some of this!" the magmar snarled and launched the fire ball which turned into a human shape at me. I engulfed myself in water and tackled through the fire, slamming into him directly. Maybe, taking control of an element wasn't bad at me. It took a lot of efforts to do it but it was still worth it.

"You really are strong, vaporeon. Now try to match with my speed." The magmar stood up on his feet and disappeared which surprised me. I was punched with a burning fist in my face, sending me flying backwards. His attack was stronger than the first Fire Blast. And I had never seen a magmar with this speed. Maybe he used Quick Attack to approach me and then attacked me with Fire Blast. If he wanted a contest of speed, I would just have to give him one. I focused my energy on my leg muscles and started to run at maximum speed. My speed couldn't match with that of Gust but this would do. The magmar sent some fire balls at me but I dodged it with speed even though I was caught slightly by one. It didn't even burn. That must have been because I was a water pokemon. When I was about to reach him, he disappeared again. But I could see him, running. This was because I, myself, was running fast too. He lunged himself towards with his fist burning. I jumped just in time to evade the contact with his fist.

"Too slow!" I said. A spiral of water started to spin quickly around my tail and with this spiral of water, I slammed my tail onto magmar's head but somehow he remained, uneffected. My eyes widened as I saw that magmar was glowing green. I landed on my four feet and then immediately jumped away from him.

"If it wasn't for the Safeguard, I would have lost to you. But it was somehow surprising that you could control the power in your body at a whim. Aqua Tail is the technique which a user needs sometimes to get a powerful one." He said, snickering and I sent a beam of water at him. His body glowed red and then he sent a massive amount of fire which vaporized the water. I was stunned by this.

"This is Overheat. My attack is so powerful that it can even vaporize water." He snickered and I growled.

"I will teach you a lesson, vaporeon. Don't judge that you will win before you even battle just because your element has an advantage over the adversary's one." He said. He was right. I was overconfident when I used Quick Attack.

"This was a good example. Water can usually kill fire but when the fire is hotter, only water will vaporize. Now it is time for me to defeat you." He said and I flinched. I might lose this battle. I noticed that the squirtles were being beaten by the magbies and the trees were continued to burn one after another. A forest fire had already begun. What should I do? I took too much time in battling magmar. Speaking of which, my range water attacks would be immune to him for he knew Overheat. And plus, he knew the move, Safeguard. There was no way I could win now. My fear had completely engulfed me but I had no time for that. Please Celebi, Mew or any legendary, grant me a miracle. Please…


	43. Double Battle

**Flare's POV**

This surely was a strange morning indeed. I suddenly sniffed some smoke in the air and then Oracle appeared and gave each of the three members an order while I had to stay here since it was too dangerous for me. I just hoped that Neon would be okay. I didn't know why but I was just more concerned about Neon than the others. I hoped they would come back safely and we could live peacefully like before. I was somehow anxious that Neon wasn't here. I just wanted to be near him all the time.

"Hey, who's that?" a male voice said and I turned towards the direction of the sound just to see three pokemons, a marowak, a banette and a mismagius. I started to tremble in fear. I started to feel that they were going to kill me for sure. I could barely win a fight against one pokemon but now three. And they seemed to be tough.

"Are you a member of the Forest Defenders?" the marowak said and I shook my head horizontally. I hoped they were just trespassing.

"So what? Let's just kill her. It wouldn't matters anyway." The banette said and my eyes widened. The marowak threw his bone at me. The bone was flying closer and closer to me and I was just too afraid to move. Even though I tried to push myself, I just couldn't move from the spot. Then someone pushed me aside. I was somehow amazed to see that it was the mismagius who saved me. But how did it get here?

"Terror, Legion only asked us to attack the members of the Forest Defenders. She is not even a member. You shouldn't bully the lone lady." It said with a female voice. She was on my side but why was she? Wasn't she sided with those two guys?

"Pain, get out of the way. Let me finish her." The banette said, smirking while the mismagius looked serious. So that mismagius' name was Pain; what an unusual name for a lady.

"As a lady myself, I cannot let you harm the other lady deleteriously. And I don't want to fight with you so please just leave her alone and continue our way." She said with a serious face.

"You really don't deserve the name, Pain, since you are very kind and fervent. I will be happy to get rid of you, too and if Legion asks, I will just tell him that I had just murdered a traitor, named Miss Pain." The banette said, with a sinister smile.

"And I can't let you touch my friend either." Could it be Floret? That was her voice. Then I noted the umbreon with blue rings, having a serious face.

"Floret, why are you here? Just go back." Pain shouted but Floret just approached the banette closer and closer.

"I am going to assist you and you can't stop me. After all, we are friends, aren't we?" Floret said with grin, marching towards the banette. The marowak suddenly made his move and shoved the umbreon harmfully with his bony head, causing her to wince in pain.

"And you are dealing with me." Terror said as he suddenly formed a Shadow Ball and launched it towards Pain who used Protect to deflect it. She suddenly faded out, causing the banette to look terrified.

"Show yourself, coward! Being invisible is not fair." he snarled and Pain appeared behind him.

"Don't worry. I will just use the move you last use." She sneered and gave him a close Shadow Ball which exploded. I turned my attention over to Floret who was dodging each of the marowak's attacks. She ducked as the marowak swung his bone club towards her and then tackled the marowak in the stomach.

"I am not done yet." The marowak groaned and threw his bone towards the umbreon who flipped and dodged it but was hit in the back as the bone returned, spinning. She collapsed and the bone returned to marowak. It was just like a boomerang. Floret stood up on her four legs and groaned.

"Now to finish this." He said and went pass the umbreon with incredible speed. He stopped and stood and suddenly blood gushed out from Floret's side, causing Floret to kneel down.

"You are not dead? Impressive" the marowak said. Floret body suddenly glowed and the wound was healed.

"Wish? You really are a tough one, umbreon." The marowak said indifferently. Meanwhile, Pain was struggling in the battle against banette who was shooting with rings of glowing power. It was Hidden Power I supposed. Even I knew how to launch one but mine was very weak. She was dodging every single one of them with success. While they were keeping the enemies busy, an idea of running away struck into my head but I decided against it. Even if I was not strong, I could not abandon those who were trying to protect me. Floret on the other hand had managed to hit the marowak's with a glowing tail which I assumed to be Iron Tail.

"You are stronger than I thought." The marowak sneered as he was at the disadvantage.


	44. Gust's Defeat

**Gust's POV**

She said that there were two pokemons in my direction, chopping the trees down. I wondered what were they and how did she know there were two pokemons? I didn't care either. I just had to complete my task of going there and put a stop to wherever they were trying to do. I ran as fast as I could. I found myself pretty surprising, being so obedient to Oracle but I had no time for that. I heard the chopping sound now, showing that the two pokemons were near. I just sensed them. I ran and ran and finally found the two pokemons that Oracle was talking about. To my irritation, it was the annoying clown who I encountered before, riding on the back of a donphan with eyes, gleaming black.

"Oh, it is the leafeon. Do you want to play again?" Yo-yo Boy said cheerfully and I groaned in annoyance. I really lost him back then but I couldn't afford to lose now. After all, he was still a kid which meant that he didn't have much experience in life. And he was on the wrong path which meant that I had to correct him. I noted that he had his gloves and deadly yo-yos with him.

"Look here, fellow. I don't want to fight, so please just retreat." I said even though I knew that he probably wouldn't.

"I want to play with you again, leafeon. It was so fun last time until that dumb lady showed up." Yo-yo Boy said cheerfully.

"Why are you redundantly chopping down the trees? This is the home to many pokemons." I yelled but he only giggled and jumped down from the donphan.

"Donphan, please continue your job while I play with this leafeon." Yo-yo Boy said cheerfully and the donphan nodded in reply. His eyes were still darkly gleaming. I took a battle pose, knowing that I would have to deal with Yo-yo Boy now.

"Let's play as usual." He said as he charged towards me with his yo-yos swinging. I scowled as I knew how dangerous that yo-yos were. I had experienced it before and was utterly defeated by this mime jr. I had to be cautioned now. He threw his yo-yo towards which I ducked and dodged it. I then bit its string and cut it. That was a surprise. Its string was vulnerable. If I cut the other yo-yo's string, he would not be able to attack anymore and then I could finally win him. That was his weak spot.

"You are good, but I still have a toy left." Yo-yo Boy said and caught me off guard in the chest with another, causing me to groan in pain? The yo-yo kept on spinning, forming a deep wound. Celebi damned it. How did I get distracted during a battle? That was the main error. The yo-yo was rewound and I barely was holding out.

"Well, I am better at playing with one yo-yo." Yo-yo Boy said cheerfully. Now I had to aim for that string. I shot some razor leaves, aiming at the leaf but he formed a light screen to deflect all of it. He then threw his yo-yo which was faster than before, giving me last time to dodge. I jumped and dodged but he swung his yo-yo very fast, catching my leg. I winced as blood gushed out from the wound.

"You are good but you really shouldn't play with that yo-yo." I said, kneeing down as I was barely standing. At this rate, the match would not last any longer. He was stronger than I imagine. Even though he lacked experience, he was really good at playing with yo-yo.

"You seemed to be weaker than before. But I was quite impressed that you even cut out one of my yo-yo. Look like, I got someone very worthy to play with." He said as he swung out his yo-yo again. I jumped 

but wince since my wounds started to ache in pain. This let the yo-yo hit my body and formed a wound. I fell to the ground limply, not being to move. My wounds ached painfully and I could barely stand it.

"Let's meet again next time. Now I have some job to do." Yo-yo Boy said cheerfully as he walked to the donphan who were knocking the trees down like a maniac. Strangely, Yo-yo Boy's body was suddenly engulfed in blue aura and was thrown violently at the donphan who screamed in pain as Yo-yo Boy hit him. Yo-yo Boy's body became engulfed in blue aura once more and he seemed to be suffering now as he was screaming pain and agony. Who was doing all this? Who was helping me? Soon I found the answer as Prophet emerged from some trees that were still standing.

"You really did a horrible thing, Mime Jr." he said, looking at the suffering clown who then collapsed, unconscious. He did the similar to the donphan who collapsed in a similar way.

"What brings you here?" I asked, barely gaining my consciousness.

"I am worried about Oracle. Her greatest enemy is nearby. I can sense his aura and we must go there immediately." Prophet replied warily.

"Can you please explain the situation first?" I asked faintly, as my vision was somehow blurring.

"There is no time." Prophet said, using Wish on my body. My wound was slowly healing but I insisted to know the cause of Oracle's fear.

"Just tell me." I demanded which caused Prophet to sign. He then closed his eyes.

"Oracle once defeated a gengar, named Legion. They are rivals from the start. While Oracle is on the bright side, Legion is on the dark side. However, Legion's desire of defeating Oracle is very strong and now he came back with greater power. That's all Oracle fear of." He said but I didn't get the point of. So Oracle was afraid of one puny gengar. Why was she afraid if she was very strong and confident in her power? Maybe was he stronger than her? I noticed that my wound was fully healed and I was able to stand again. His Wish technique surely was strong.

"Now let's go." He said and held my hand. We were both teleported.


	45. The Fierce Battle

**A.N: This story is not going to end like A Pokemon Story, the one I wrote with no experience. But it was the story which gives me experiences with writing so I treasure it. However, there is still much more in this story, so look forward to it.**

**Neon's POV**

I really thought that I should know the situation. Oracle and I were now walking forwards. Where were we walking to? We were now aimlessly moving around now.

"When a leader meets with another leader, we shouldn't just teleport to him since it would be rude. Since this is personal, we should walk and this is not aimless." Oracle said to meet and I groaned in annoyance. Couldn't she stop reading my mind?

"Well, if your mind is very strong, I can't read your mind. So be strong, okay?" Oracle said and I blinked in surprise. She wasn't angered by my last thought. When she first hurled me backwards I thought that she was very petulant.

"Don't be ridiculous, Neon. Of course, I am not that irritable." Oracle said, smiling at me which I returned with a nervous chuckle. Soon we saw Gust and Prophet in front of us. Prophet must have teleported Gust here but why were they here? Gust was taking a battle pose and growling while Prophet was calm but in a defensive pose. They were facing a vulpix who I recognized as Heat and a mysterious looking Gengar. I better not tell Heat that I was Neon since he properly wouldn't know who I was due to my evolution. Oracle calmly walked to the gengar while Prophet bowed to Oracle with reverence. I sat beside Gust and carefully observed the situation.

"Oracle, you have changed so much." The gengar said, smirking while Heat grunted.

"Hey, you said I was going to fight Neon. Now where the hell is he?" Heat inquired but gengar ignored him. I hoped he wouldn't recognize the scar across my right eye.

"It surely has been a while, Legion." Oracle said. "But I am pretty surprised that you are destroying this forest just to lure me out here. And you come all way here just because of your competitive mind, not your vindictiveness of your last defeat."

So that guy was Legion. I didn't know about that.

"Anyway, where's Neon? I got a technique to show him." Heat growled.

"Well, Neon, I don't know. Maybe he is in some part of the forest." I lied, winking an eye at Gust who understood what I meant.

"Yeah, he is protecting the forest now. I think, he is in the north." Gust supported my lie.

"He is here and I don't like lying…. Neon." Prophet said, as he pointed his spoon towards me. I flinched as I knew that he had betrayed me.

"Come to think of it, I recognized that scar and the necklace, Neon." Heat said as he lunged himself forwards. I jerked back just to dodge but he caught my necklace and tore it off, dropping the medallion on the ground. I didn't need them anyway since Oracle was here. He then stepped on my paw, causing me to wince. He then opened his mouth and shot a dark energy ball that exploded in my neck, causing 

me to scream slightly in pain. I knew that it was Shadow Ball but how did he learned that technique? He was psychically carried in air and thrown back to his place beside Legion. I didn't know who did it since there were two psychic pokemons.

"Remember, I don't want any interference." Oracle said to Prophet while I was still suffering slightly from the explosion. It really did hurt. I should be more careful when I picked a fight with Heat.

"And you are only to witness the battle." Legion said to Heat who grunted indifferently. Oracle took a battle pose and Legion mimicked her action.

"This is going to be a very fearsome battle like before, the battle between two powerful individuals." Prophet said and Gust looked at him confusedly.

"These two are very powerful. Oracle is the only gardevoir, who won against the three beings Uxie, Mespirit and Azelf not in a battle but in a psychic competition. Her psychic power is insanely strong. And plus she can use ice attacks at a whim." Prophet explained.

"But that means….." I started. She must have mastered two elements.

"Yeah, she has taken control of two elements which no normal pokemons can do. However, on the other hand, Legion is the only gengar who defeated the three legendary birds. Even though he could not win against Lugia, he was still strong. He uses two elements, dark and poison." Prophet explained.

"A pretty flower is useful for many occasions. But an ugly flower has its uses as well." Legion said, smirking.

"Well, but if you use that ugly flower's abilities in a wrong way, it will forever be ugly." Oracle added. I noticed that she was levitating from the ground. She was floating higher and higher.

"Gardevoirs cannot fly. But since her psychic is so strong, she uses her psychic energy for flying. But Legion can fly as well due to ability." Prophet said, amazed by Oracle's actions. Gengar floated at the same level as Oracle.

"Let's begin." The female pokemon said calmly. "I will let you attack first."

"I will accept that offer." Legion replied, shooting a very powerful looking Shadow Ball at her who extended her arm. A very thick slab of ice appeared in front of her which shattered as the energy ball collided with it. Ice shards came, flying towards us and I covered my eyes from those shards.

"She made a right choice. Psychic energy is inferior to dark energy. So she mixed the ice energy with the psychic and froze the air in front of her. Air contains a certain amount of water vapor." Prophet explained. There was no time for explanation. There were ice shards flying right at us. But I managed to observe the battle.

"Got you, Oracle." Legion said as he appeared behind Oracle. His fist glowed black as he lunged it towards Oracle who teleported out of the way. She appeared above Legion. (Her slender legs were completely visible). Her foot then engulfed in strong looking white energy as she slammed Legion to the ground with that foot, throwing Legion to the ground, causing the quake. She was using only ice attacks but why? Legion stood on his feet and Oracle appeared in front of him due to teleportation. This time, her fists were engulfed in a similar way. She then started punching continuously; advancing as she 

punched but Legion could dodge every punch she gave, taking backwards steps. But why didn't she use any psychic attacks?

"Why didn't Oracle use Psychic?" I asked the alakazam.

"Psychic is very less effective against dark and ghost. She can hurt him with psychic energy but not as much as she can with ice energy." The Prophet explained.

Legion managed to grab Oracle's arm and then threw to a tree which fell down due to collision. They were both extremely strong. Oracle winced in pain but she stood up. She coughed and spit out some black blood.

"I inserted poison in your body during that grab." Legion said, giving a sneer. Oracle then placed her hand which glowing and on her chest. Her body glowed and then returned to be normal.

"So poison won't work against you." Gengar said and she nodded. "Then I will just have to try another method."

I wondered who will win in the end? This surely was a fierce battle.


	46. The United Pokemon

**Lilly's POV**

I tried to defeat the magmar but if he in turn was winning against me. He used Overheat to vaporize the water attacks that I used. Even my Aqua Tail won't work against him anymore. The squirtles were too weak to kill all the fire and there were nine other pokemons. The fire was getting bigger and bigger and the smoke was starting to choke me out.

"So what will you do? It will start a conflagration as we planned. I will tell you one thing…" the magmar sneered, knowing that I didn't stand a chance against him. He was right. This was now a battle in which fire was beating water. This battle won't last.

"The main reason of burning this forest is not to destroy the forest but to lure out the great Oracle, herself. She must be meeting with Legion by now." He said and I gasped. He was trying to make Oracle, come here. And just for that, he had to burn the forest? This was an outrage! I bared my teeth now, and took a battle pose. I wouldn't let them happen. I would fight with all my determination.

"Oracle is our savior and no one can harm her." A voice started and numerous voices then shouted. They were pokemons of different kinds, living in this part of the forest.

"We were watching since you started. We weren't able to do anything since we were weak but now if it is for Oracle, we will fight." A mankey shouted in a male tone.

"Oracle has protected our home for many years. We appreciate her doing from the very start." A chansey shouted in a female. A baby hippiny was clinging to her. I didn't know that everyone love Oracle until now. Tears of joy started to drip from my eyes. The chansey lifted the happiny in his hand.

"This happiny's name is Justice. And it was Oracle who gave him the name." Chansey exclaimed.

"So what of it?" Magmar said flatly. "She may already die now."

"Oracle did many things for us. She sometimes even solves our personal problems. All of these pokemons have gained help from Oracle at least once. We are very grateful to him." A sandrew shouted, followed by everyone shouts. They were very benevolent in this kind of situation. This really touched me. Yeah, Oracle once helped me too as a matchmaker. According to Gust, she was the one who told him to come back to me.

"Thank you everyone. Thank you for your support." I showed my thanks, bowing my head. I didn't want them to think that I was rude.

"We will defend this forest like Oracle wanted. We will prevent deforestation. Even if we were weak, we can beat you up if we combine our strength." They said and all of the pokemons charged at the magmar and each of the magbies. Now I had to focus on killing the fire. I sent a very strong burst of water into each of the burning trees, killing the fire. A sudden blow on my side stopped me. It was a rattata who hit me. I shook my head briefly and noted that the magmar was too strong for the pokemons. He was shaking all of them off and started to shoot fire at some random trees.

"Mommy! Daddy!" I heard one of the squirtles' cries and scanned around. There were a wartortle and a blastoise in the view.

"My sons!" The wartortle said in a female tone. The squirtles ran towards her and gave her a group hug. The Blastoise must be the daddy then.

"Who hurt my sons?" he inquired with a slight anger tone.

"It is the magbies and that magmar." One of the squirtles replied, pointing at my enemies. The blastoise then immediately charged towards the magmar and gave him a powerful punch in the cheek, throwing him, flying backwards with strong force. The magmar was too slow to dodge it.

"Sir, this is catastrophic. We are besieged by many pokemons. I am afraid that we have to flee." One of the magbies said. The Magmar stood up on his two feet. A little amount of blood was running down from his mouth. He rubbed it off and frowned.

"You will pay dearly, vaporeon for having such strong allies. Everyone, retreat." He said and ran away along with the nine magbies. The fire was still there and we still had to save the forested. I prepared to shoot some water at the burning trees but was stopped by the blastoise.

"Don't bother. You had done enough already. Let me finish this." He said and then aimed his two cannons at the burning area and then shot two extremely strong burst of water (a lot stronger than mine), killing the fire immediately. I could do nothing but stared in it. I was weaker than him so this proved that I needed to train harder.

"You really are impressive, sir." I praised him. If I was to be polite, I had to praise someone with true skills. The blastoise blushed and smiled.

"It was nothing, compared to your efforts even at your disadvantage." He said, scratching the back of his head with his paw. He was strong but why was he hiding? The other pokemons hid themselves because they were weak but for him to be called "weak", this was impossible.

"Sir, were you hiding, too?" I inquired curiously and he shook his head.

"Well, I was going a trip with my lovely mate. And I just returned here now." He said and picking up the wartortle who was smiling shyly. Her face was red. I signed in disappointment. They were completely different in size. I just wondered how they kissed each other in that condition.

"Isn't this nice to have a strong and caring husband?" the wartortle said.

"Yes. You two really suited each other." I lied. Sometimes lying was the only way to being polite. I could tell them they really were not suitable to each other but that would have been boorish. But looking at how they cared for each other, I was starting to get jealous. They had children and a family. I wondered if Gust truly cared about me. I was still skeptical about him but I shouldn't be. Gust wasn't doubtful about me at all. From the last time, he told me, I once realized that he trusted me with all his heart. I trusted him back then but when Floret appeared, I really felt skeptical about it. How foolish of me. I shouldn't have doubt now. I should clear that thought out of my mind. Gust had told me that they were siblings even though they weren't related by blood.

"Hey, do you have a mate, too?" One of the squirtles asked. I nodded and received a smile from the family.

"I hope you can have children soon." The wartortle wished and I blushed. I had never thought about having children till now. I better asked Gust about it.


	47. Terror's Defeat

**Flare's POV**

Floret was giving the marowak many attacks but marowak was blocking every single. The two ghosts were attacking each other with the same "Shadow Ball" attacks over and over and projectiles exploded as they collided. Didn't they have any other attacks to use? I turned my attention at the marowak again who was now growling. He then suddenly smirked.

"I will use that tactic and then you won't be able to beat me, umbreon." He sneered, causing the umbreon to look at him in confusion. Even I was confused. But now Floret seemed to be alarmed by her look. She must have known that the marowak was scheming something.

"I call this tactic 'The Mole Tunnels'." He said and then jumped into the air. Floret, aware of his actions, jerked backwards and dodged the aerial attack of the marowak. He didn't seem to aim at Floret anyway since he dug a hole in the ground. Floret scanned around, looking for the marowak. The marowak then suddenly popped up from the ground from behind her, causing her eyes to widen. Floret was not fast enough to dodge the marowak's slash and got a deep wound in the back. The marowak then fell in the ground again. How did he know Floret's presence? How?

"Floret!" I shouted worriedly. The mismagius gave a sudden glance at her friend, letting the dark energy hit her and exploded. I shouldn't have shouted.

"You shouldn't get yourself distracted in a battle, Pain." The banette mocked. Should I join in the battle or should I just watch those who were trying to help me fall? I did not know for sure.

Floret started to run around in circles as if she got a plan. The marowak then appeared in front of her and slashed her again which she dodged by jumping. Her tail glowed and she slammed the thick skull of marowak with her tail back into the hole. Floret smirked as she landed safely. But the marowak popped up from the ground behind her and gave her another slash in the back, causing Floret to scream in pain and agony. It hurt just looking by looking at the wounds. Floret body glowed again and the wounds were slowly fading. But then marowak launched up from the ground beneath her and gave her a head butt in the stomach, causing her to scream in pain.

"Like I would let you do that." The marowak said. The dark pokemon fell to the ground and the marowak had aimed at her for an aerial attack but stopped by sudden appearance of Pain in front of him. She released some rings which hit the marowak directly, causing him to fall to the ground. Floret slowly stood up and her body glowed, healing the wounds again. The wounds were fully healed this time. She seemed to have lost a certain amount of energy.

"Let's change opponents." She said as she walked shakily towards the banette who was regaining his position. Pain must have given him a strong attack since he looked pretty weak now. He stared at her in disbelief.

"Are you sure you can do this?" Pain asked with concern and Floret nodded. Floret continued to march towards the banette who was giving a sinister smile to her.

"I can settle with you then." He said but was hit by a thundershock from an unknown source before he could make an attack. He was screaming as the electricity was giving him pain. He fell to the ground limply and I noted that it was Lightning who shot him since he was actually a few feet behind the banette.

"Lightning!" Floret yelled, could not believe her eyes by the look. Lightning grinned and walked towards her and stopped when they came in face to face.

"Just what are you doing here, jerk!?" Floret demanded with slight anger. Lightning's grin faded, instead a scowl appeared.

"Of course, I came here to fetch you, missie! But I had to take care of that idiot who it is in the way." Lightning said. Wow, he wasn't soft with ladies anymore. He was soft with Lilly and me but now, he was kind of little hard on Floret. Floret then frowned in anger and yelled.

"Thank you for the help but look here, Mister. I am not going back to that old shack of yours and that is final!" she said angrily. Her face was pushing Lightning's behind as she spoke.

"Well, my house is not an old shack! And that is your home, too!" Lightning yelled back. His face again pushing Floret's backwards as he yelled. Now both of their faces were pushing against one another.

"Since when did it become my home!?" Floret demanded with anger.

"Since the day Tom adopted you, you became part of our family! So our home is your home!" Lightning yelled back.

"Just enough with those stupid theories! I am not your family, okay?" Floret yelled back. They were really immature, arguing at a time like this and in the middle of a battle too. Even I couldn't do anything, I was disappointed in them.

"I wish that we would still be chained so that you can never escape from my paw!" Lightning yelled. I signed in disappointment. I turned my attention towards Pain who was now winning. The marowak was panting now.

"Since I am a ghost, physical attacks cannot harm me." She mocked as she lunged Dark Pulse at the marowak again who dodged. His tactic was not working against Pain.

"This is unforgivable!" I turned my head as I heard the banette's loud growl.

"JUST SHUT UP!" Both of them turned and shouted in unison, causing the banette to frown.

"Ignoring me…. Ignoring my strength surely is unforgivable!" the banette yelled back. I disliked that banette from the start so I launched a fire ball towards the banette which caught him directly. He screamed in pain.

"You shall die first!" he said, turning towards me and I flinched. But then he was hit with a thundershock from Lightning.

"You should never turn your back to your enemy." He mocked.

"And your enemies are us, banette." Floret agreed as she added a shadow ball to Lightning's continuous thundershock. An explosion occurred and the banette collapsed. He was still conscious but he couldn't move anymore. I was pretty amazed by their combination. They said things in harmony and fought with a good team work as well even though they were arguing just now.

"You will pay one day!" he said. "Let's go!"

Surprisingly Pain disappeared along with the marowak and the banette. Floret collapsed and fainted. She must have used all of her energy during the battle. Lightning caught her chin in his paw. I suddenly became worried about her. Would she be okay?

"She is probably worn out due to the strenuous movement and attacks." Lightning said vaguely. "Any way, I should go now."

Lightning grabbed Floret's neck in his mouth and started to carry her. He really was strong since he could carry someone of his size just with the mouth. Floret's hind limbs and tail were dragging along the ground as he carried.

"Thank you, Lightning. And tell Floret the same thing for me." I said, bowing my head. If Floret and Pain didn't help me, I would have been dead by now. And Lightning saved Floret so he had my thanks as well. Lightning nodded and continued to walk away.


	48. The Fall of A Powerful

**Neon's POV**

Oracle was dodging Legion's myriad amount of shadow balls. Legion surely was a strong opponent, but Oracle surely matched him well. Legion then formed a beam of dark energy and shot it at Oracle who teleported out of the way, reappearing above Legion. She gave Legion an aerial ice punch which Legion blocked with his hand.

"What the!" Oracle gasped and Legion smirked. His other fist then glowed with black energy and then punched Oracle, throwing her flying. She grabbed a tree in the way and then recoiled. She extended her fists which were glowing with ice energy and gave Legion two direct punches in the stomach, slamming against a tree.

"Have enough?" Oracle asked, sounding confident. Legion stood up on his feet and grinned again. He, too, was confident.

"Not yet." He said. Even though Oracle didn't notice it, I saw black hands emerging from Oracle's shadow.

"Oracle, look out!" I shouted but it was too late. The hands had sealed Oracle's movement completely. Oracle was struggling to be free but the hands were so strong.

"That's part of the dark power. Shadow is the darkness, itself. Since I control the dark energy, I can use the shadow as well." The gengar smirked as he charged towards Oracle, attempting to try a powerful shadow punch on her. Oracle grinned for some reason. Legion's hands and legs were suddenly frozen in solid ice just a few inches away from Oracle. A frown appeared on Legion's face while Oracle was smirking.

"Legion, if you want to play the sealing game, I can play that too. By using psychic, I can touch everything, even moisture in the atmosphere and then froze the water vapor with very cold energy. This is the method that I used to freeze your limbs of." Oracle said, confidently. She then teleported out of the hands and then appeared behind Legion.

"Well, a little ice would do you good." She said, with her fists glowing with ice energy then. She then punched Legion continuously who was wincing in pain for each punch. Legion then freed himself from the ice with dark energy glowing from his body. The dark energy even blew Oracle away to a few feet. He then flew towards Oracle and gave her a lick in the face. Was he trying to flirt with his enemy? I was confused at this.

"Why the hell did he lick in the face?" Gust asked, confused as well.

"That was not an affectionate move. That was an attack called 'Lick'" Prophet explained and only then I understood. Oracle seemed to be paralyzed but Legion was sharing the same affect.

"Syncronize ability. How careless of you to forget about that, Legion." Oracle sneered and Legion frowned. Oracle quickly recovered herself from paralysis by using a technique that even I didn't know. Her body was glowing and releasing some waves. However, Legion wasn't healed.

"Heal Bell is a very useful technique, isn't it?" Oracle said, smiling.

"Freeze, Legion." She said and Legion became frozen solid in an instance. Oracle's face became saddened as four sharp icicles surrounded the frozen Legion, appearing from nowhere.

"I am sorry, Legion. I just have to finish you so that you cannot cause any more trouble." She said as tears started to fell from her eyes. Did she have any connections with the ghost?

"I know how you feel, Oracle." Prophet said and I blinked in confusion. What were they hiding from us? I really was curious. The icicles pierced through the frozen gengar in four places. It hurt me just by looking. Oracle was someone who anyone better not messed with. Although she may be kind, she was too powerful. The ice slowly melted and Gengar collapsed. Oracle then suddenly approached Legion and bowed her head.

But then Legion suddenly stood up, causing Oracle to gasp. He shut Oracle's mouth with his paw.

"I also am sorry to do this. I really do treasure our childhood times. Farewell." Legion said harshly. He slowly removed his paw and then Oracle suddenly kneed down. A lot of black blood gushed out from her mouth and she collapsed to the ground limply.

"Legion, what did you do to her?" Prophet demanded but Legion only gave him an indifferent look. He also kneed down because he was severely damaged by Oracle's last attack.

"I just inserted a small shadow ball, mixed with poison into her through the mouth. The shadow must have exploded. Although the power is very small, the internal organs are more delicate than the external ones." Legion said and Prophet growled in return. He took a battle pose. I quickly ran over to Oracle and examined her. She was still breathing but she was going to die.

"Oracle, say this faithful ninetales your last words. It will only be a matter of minutes before you die." Legion said coldly, as he walked shakily to Heat. Oracle placed her paw on my chest.

"Tell everyone not to avenge for me, Neon…. And also Legion have to gather with his subordinates again so tell Prophet, the new leader of the Forest Defenders to teleport them to the location…. That's all I n need to …." She died before she completed her sentence. Somehow, tears were started to fall from my eyes and I felt extremely sad. Even though I knew Oracle for only little time, I felt sad. I turned towards my comrades with a sad face and shook my head.

"Oracle have died?" Gust said, with teary eyes. Even he, who was so manly, must have wanted to cry too. But he grunted, trying to endure it. Prophet didn't cry at all in fact, he bowed his head to the dead body.

"Please teleport Gengar and Heat to their destination, Prophet. That's one of Oracle's last wishes." I moaned sadly. Prophet nodded understandingly. He then gave Gengar and Heat a look which made them disappeared from the sight in a blink of light. Why did he remain emotionless? Why didn't he mourn Oracle's death?

"Don't you feel sad, too?" I asked vaguely, wiping my tears off. Even Gust was crying slightly.

"This is one of Oracle's words." Prophet said as he walked towards the motionless body of Oracle. "What happened is happened. We can no longer change those facts. We just have to look forwards to the future. A plant may die but in return, new plants are formed from the seed of the perished plant. Oracle may pass away but many things will happen due to her brave and courageous deeds."

Gust wiped his tears out and tried to look serious without success.

"Now Neon, carry Oracle's body. We will burn it, in your clearing. Oracle told me to do so when she lived." Prophet said and I nodded. He lifted Oracle's body psychically onto my back and teleported all of us to our area.


	49. Traitors!

**Heat's POV**

Legion surely was weak now. Even though Oracle had been routed and killed by him, he was severely damaged by Oracle last attacks. There were even holes at a side him and yet he could still walk but shakily. A normal pokemon would have died from that attack and there was something I didn't understand about. According to both Oracle and Legion's words, they must have a relationship in the past and to take it literally from Legion's last comment before Oracle's departure from this world, it must be in their childhood. But then why did he kill Oracle? And why did Oracle and he try to kill each other? Both of them fought vigorously while Neon and the leafeon were anxiously watching the battle. The alazakam looked as if he couldn't do but to me, he seemed to be powerful. Either Oracle or he was the one who retained me from giving Neon a second attack after the first one. Even though my whim of fighting Neon was broken, it was still a puzzle to me. I didn't even know the reason of the fight.

"Legion, I don't mean to infuriate you but what is the reason? And you two seemed to know each other then why did you sought to kill each other?" I inquired curiously.

"I will tell you the truth, Heat. It is true that Oracle and I know each other. Even though Oracle didn't want to have a rival, I declared that only of us will live in the future. The stronger shall live in this world. But when I was defeated last time, Oracle hesitated to kill me so I lived. I begged her to kill me back then, but she didn't. How humiliated I felt. I trained harder and harder to match my power with the insane power of her. When we met again, she refused to fight me and I couldn't attack her to keep my pride and honor. However, I prompted her to agree to duel when we met again and that would be a death match. Heeding this agreement, we tried to kill each other as you can see." Legion explained coldly. Why did he want to duel so much? Just why did he want to do? But I decided not to bother him anymore with these questions.

"You might want to know my ambition, Heat. I will tell you since I trust you the most of all my comrades. The world itself is not fair. The strongest is the fittest in this world. That's why I am trying to be the strongest. I will defeat all the strong ones until I am the strongest. That's how it goes." Legion explained more about him and I blinked in surprise. That was surely a psychological problem. There was something wrong with his mental opinion.

I didn't pay attention to him anymore and just kept looking forward. After a moment, I saw Yo-yo Boy, unconscious and Smasher and Terror were severely damaged while Pain was okay. I wondered who did this to them. The donphan was unconscious, too. We were told to meet at Yo-yo Boy's assigned area but now only five members, including Legion and me were the ones who were able to discuss.

"Legion, she attacked us! She betrayed us!" Terror said, pointing to Pain who scowled.

"So what?" Legion replied indifferently. "No matter what you say, I will not punish her."

"And why is that, Legion?" The bone-wielder inquired with slight anger tone.

"Pain always stands on the side of those who are helpless while your cruelty was unimaginable. Being strong also means helping those who are in distress." Legion said reasonably.

"Dude, that's why you are weak." Fear suddenly appeared behind the weak banette. He knew "Teleport", too?

"Fear, why are you here? I didn't call for you." Legion frowned and snarled. I could also sense that Fear was up to no good so I stayed alarmed. He slowly walked to Legion and kneed down, venerating Legion. What was his purpose?

"Sorry, dude. I faithfully served you and shouldn't insult you like that.." he said and then he slowly stood up.

"..until now." He said and penetrated Legion's stomach with a dark glowing Legion, causing him to scream in pain! Legion was already hurt and now he was betrayed by his comrade. I couldn't possibly stand this!

"What are you doing, Fear?" I demanded but Fear only smiled in a sinister way. Pain also had a frown in her face, indicating that she, too, felt the same way.

"Dude, it is just like his motto, "The strongest is the fittest." And you can become only strongest by defeating all the weak ones. The weak ones don't deserve to live. He is weak now due to the last battle so I could finish him in one blow. To become strong, one shouldn't have been pitiful on the weak. Isn't that right, dude?" Fear said smugly, removing his fist and I growled in sudden anger. Legion collapsed limply to the ground and panting almost lifelessly. This made me irate!

"Legion is now obsolete to me. From now on, this sableye dude will be your new leader." Fear said smugly again, rising me to sudden anger.

"This is an outrage, Fear! What makes you think you are qualified to become our leader!?" Pain yelled furiously.

"There is no way I am serving you. I only take commands from Legion!" I supported with a yell.

"Yo, you dudes really are not submissive. Even those two are revering me now." Fear said, faking a sad face. He was true; Smasher and Terror were actually bowing their heads towards the sableye. I knew that Pain was the most trustworthy one since she was the only one who was kind and aberrant from others. It was a bad thing that "Magmar Army" was not here. I found them trustworthy, too since they kept their pride and helped out.

"That's okay, dudes! I don't need weaklings anyway. Even if I can control one of you, I will not since you are weak and useless. Now I shall destroy you." Fear said, almost emotionlessly and my eyes narrowed, focusing on him.

"This is bad, Heat. We have to run." Pain said warily.

"I cannot leave Legion alone." I replied.

"But Heat…." She was about to continue but stopped. "I am impressed by your loyalty. Good luck."

Pain faded away but I knew that she did not use teleport. A sudden cry escaped from my mouth as something pierced through my chest. I noted that it was sableye's Shadow Claws that caught me directly. He removed the claws from my chest which really was painful. I collapsed limply to the ground near Legion. I could not move. I felt as my body was dead.

"You really are despicable." I groaned and received a kick in the face.

"Dude, you can insult me all you want but that doesn't change a thing." Fear said, stomping my face with his foot. He pushed me down, which was really painful. His torture surely was like the one that Rockets did to me because they thought that I was the one who betrayed and attacked them even though Neon was actually the one. I had to fake death so that I could escape. Should I fake death now? I should not. I had to stay awake as possible.

"We will retreat to the base now and fill up our energy." Fear ordered the other traitors who obeyed him and all of them were teleported, including the unconscious Yo-yo Boy. I wondered how he would react. The donphan was left there. My vision was blurring more and more. I felt a gentle touch on my back and my vision blurred more.

"Don't worry. You will live, Heat. Help is coming but I cannot live. Farewell." That was Legion's last words that I heard before I fainted.


	50. A Sad Funeral

**Neon's POV**

I was back in the clearing now due to Prophet's teleportation. Oracle's body was as light as a feather on my back. I hoped that there wouldn't be any repercussion on the Forest Defender due to this event. I really hope so. Lilly hadn't come yet and I could see that Flare was fine. That relieved me a lot. She was the one who I loved most. She ran to me as soon as she noted me.

"Are you okay?" Flare asked and I noted. She must have noticed Oracle's body that was on my back. I put Oracle down and gave a sad look to her.

"Is she alright?" Flare inquired with a sad tone. I closed my eyes and shook my head horizontally. Flare then placed her paw on the motionless body, trying to test the pulse which I assumed that there wouldn't be any.

"She is gone, Flare. I am truly sorry." I said and sat beside her, running my paw down her back.

"I am okay, but how will Lilly feel? According to her, she knew Oracle for a long time. How will she feel when she finds out about this?" she said. I truly knew what she meant. Oracle's death would hurt Lilly's little heart. Why was I being so sympathetic now? Maybe I must have been because I had lost a valuable family in the past.

"Well, there is nothing we can do." I replied and she nuzzled her head against my neck. I covered my nine tails over her six, showing her my affection. Gust was looking sad, too while Prophet seemed to be lost in thoughts.

"We will burn the body now." Prophet said calmly as he lifted Oracle body psychically up into the sky and put the body, floating above the stream which was our source of water.

"Hey, I've come back." My ears twitched as I heard Lilly's sudden comment. I turned towards her and saw that she had noticed Oracle's dead body, floating in the air.

"What are you doing with Oracle if I may ask?" she said politely with a slight sad tone. Prophet remained calmed as she spoke. There was an awkward pause for a while.

"We're burning her and please don't interfere." Prophet said harshly which made Lilly burst into tears.

"What did you say, Prophet? Why are you going to burn her? I thought you are loyal and faithful to her." She said as she stomped towards Prophet but was stopped by Gust, her mate.

"Sorry, Lilly. Oracle have passed away." He said and a very conspicuous sadness appeared on Lilly's face.

"I don't believe you, Gust. I don't believe you." She cried and ran towards Prophet in an attempt to stop him from burning Oracle. Flare and I was both depressed and sad and I didn't want to involve in this situation so I remained still. And this problem could only be solved by Gust who she loved most at that time. Before Lilly tackled Prophet, Gust managed to warped Lilly in his vines and pulled her to him.

"Let me go!" Lilly said, struggling to be free. He then threw Lilly to his side. Lilly attempted to charge at Prophet again but stopped by Gust's tackle in her side which made her lose her balance and fell.

"Please Lilly, listen to me." Gust demanded but Lilly got up and charge at Prophet again who was remaining calm. Gust tackled her form the side and made her fell. This time he pinned her to the ground.

"Listen to me!" Gust yelled angrily. "Don't get so raged just because Prophet was going to burn her body! She is gone and never going to come back even if you beg her!"

Those were some harsh words, Gust. Couldn't you be a little gentler? Nevertheless, Gust pulled her into a hug and petted her back, trying to comfort her.

"Please, Lilly. I don't want to be mad at you. I knew that this had been an unpleasant day since morning. But please accept the ethical truth. No one can evade death. So please…" Gust said while Lilly cried more and more.

"I don't want to watch this, Neon. This makes me sad. I don't want to watch this." Flare said as she started to cry. She buried her head into my chest and started to cry out. I didn't know when my chest became a place to cry but I put her paw on her back and petted.

"Neon, the fire if you please." Prophet said and I nodded. I aimed carefully and incinerate Oracle with a large fire ball, devouring her slowly. My red flashed again, reflecting the fire. This reminded me of the fireplace I used to rest by and warmed up myself. It was Lilly who took me in and let me stayed with her and Gust. It was Oracle who taught me how to master my own element and taught me Confuse Rays technique. She may have been a mind reading freak but I still respect her as my master. Oracle's corpse finally turned to ashes and fell into the stream

"Oracle, may you move freely." Prophet bowed her head towards and I did the same. Flare removed her face from my chest and bowed her head too. The two eons as well separated and showed their respect. Oracle, may you be safe wherever you went.

"I am sure Oracle will be as free as a wind and wander around the earth." Flare sobbed.

"She may even wander in the universe. But all of you have to remember something. The past cannot be redone. So let's all look forward to the future. Let's all try our best to bring peace to the forests and the pokemons just like Oracle wanted." Prophet said wisely.

"But who will be the new leader of the Forest Defenders?" Lilly inquired and all of them except me blinked in confusion.

"Oracle, told me that the new leader is Prophet." I said sincerely.

"Then I will be the new leader from now on." Prophet accepted the position.


	51. Heat's Forceful Saviors

**Heat's POV**

I was running around and Terror and Smasher were chasing me. I ran and ran till I slipped and fell. Fear appeared in front of me and grabbed my neck. His other fist was glowing black.

"Dude, I could control you if I wanted to do. But you are just a weakling. So farewell." He smirked and then charged his fist at me.

"Go away!" I jerked and shouted but there were only a vulpix and a ninetales in front of us. I must have been dreaming about something. I was sweating a lot and my heart was beating rapidly. Why did this happen? I was scared now. I thought I was fearless at first since I didn't get frightened even when the rockets tortured me a lot.

"You must be having a nightmare." The ninetales said with a gentle kind feminine tone, showing that she was a female. But she looked old. The vulpix suddenly jumped at me and pinned me to the ground.

"It is good that you are awake." it said in a female tone, giggling and I blinked in confusion. She surely was cute when she giggled like that but I didn't care. Still compared to any other vulpix I saw, she was the cutest one. She let me stand up again.

"Thanks," I said, standing up and rubbing the dirt off my fur.

"Well, nice to meet you. I am Sera." The vulpix introduced herself to me. She seemed to a mischievous one since she was now biting and pulling my ear playfully. It didn't even hurt me. The ninetales shook her head.

"Sorry, for my daughter's behavior. Ever since her sister left, she had no one to play with and became lonely. She really must be seeing a vulpix that she can play with." The ninetales explained. So this annoying vulpix was her daughter but there was a complete difference between their personalities.

"It seemed that I am ruder than my daughter, not introducing myself. My name is Kira." The ninetales said. The names was quite similar in speech, ending the "…ra" sound. I started to shove Sera gently away with my paw since she was starting to irritate me.

"Mine's Heat." I said. I really shouldn't be doing this in front of her mother, but I couldn't stand, being toyed. I gave her Sera a threatening glare and she whined.

"Sera, he is just a newcomer so you shouldn't be doing this so much." Kira said, and Sera seemed to be more disappointed.

"I am fine, Miss Kira. Sera, you can keep company if you want." I said and Sera jumped happily. She was now nuzzling her head against my neck playfully. I lied down and scanned around the area and noted that I wasn't in the same area. These two must have brought me here. Sera rested her stomach on my back and I growled silently but didn't complain since I didn't them to get upset.

"So where is the daddy?" I asked curiously. If she was the mother, there must be the father too.

"He went out there to check the fire that was burning recently but now it seemed to be killed since there is no more smoke now." She said. I suddenly remembered about Legion. What happened to him then?

"You found me, unconscious, right?" I inquired.

"Yep, we were just wandering around and found you." Sera replied from above. Why did I let her lay down on me?

"Well, did you happen to see a gengar there?" I asked warily.

"It seemed to be dead so I didn't bring him here" she said and I remembered. He was now dead because Fear's shadow punch. He really was a powerful and I envied his mind. However, I still held a grudge against Neon.

"Hey, Kira. I am back." I heard a male tone and noted that another ninetales in the view. He must be the father of this family but I didn't really care.

"Crimson, you are late. This is already evening. So what was happening there?" Kira asked. So his name was Crimson.

"I didn't see much of it since the fire was already killed when I arrived there. I chatted with the pokemons who witnessed the events most of the time and found out that there was one brave vaporeon who stood up against the fire pokemons and tried to kill the fire. She succeeded with the help of a blastoise. Many pokemons are starting to admire her and wanting to see her again. Even I wanted to see her for myself." The father replied. He then noted me and walked to me.

"Who's this young vulpix?" he asked skeptically, sniffing my head. I growled slightly in irritation. First of all, his daughter was resting her whole body on me and now he was sniffing me out.

"His name's Heat. We found him unconscious. Sera prompted me to bring him along." Kira replied gently.

"He looks so young and yet pretty strong, too." Crimson praised and I smirked in satisfaction. Yep, I was strong (strong enough to defeat Neon). I really wondered why Gengar didn't want me to revenge Neon. He really was a mystery but still he was admirable.

"How old are you?" Crimson said and I blinked. I was lost in my thoughts for a few seconds.

"One year and four months old." I replied sincerely. Both the ninetales stared at me in disbelief, causing me to return the suspicious stare.

"Are you sure about that?" Kira asked and I nodded.

"You really seemed to be mature for such a young age." Crimson said in disbelief.

"Sis only left when she was one and eight months old but you are all alone in this age." Sera said to me from above. I signed. The way she was lying on my back reminded me of how Neon sealed my movement for a long time. This really pissed me of but for some reason, Sera didn't bother me at all. It was just Neon who bothered me.

"Mum, can we keep him with us?" Sera said and I blinked. Did she just mean that she wanted me to stay with them?

"Well, I have already decided that he will stay since he is probably not old enough yet." Crimson said and I blinked in disbelief.

"We will have a new son now. As long as he is not old enough, he is going to stay here." Kira said, worrying me more. How did they expect me to stay here?

"Hooray…." Sera cheered up and I became nervous.

"Hey, guys, I hadn't agreed on anything yet." I exclaimed with a slight surprise.

"As parents, there is no way that we are letting you go now." Kira said and I growled.

"You can't be kidding like that. Since when did I become your son or child or whatever?" I snarled.

"By the time we decided, you already are a member of this family." Crimson said and then he whispered something into my ear.

"And you and Sera suited each other. Two of you can build a great future with love." My mouth wide opened as I heard his comment. And my face turned red, due to a sudden comment on my love. Sera got off me and I stood up. She started to nuzzle her head against my neck.

"Sera has already taken a liking of you, Heat." Kira said, giggling.

"Pet her on the back." Crimson advised with a laugh. I ran my paw down her back, petting her. I didn't usually obey anyone unless that someone was my master but now, I did without a word. Something was wrong with me here. My personality was changing as soon as I met this family. Sera seemed to enjoy being petted and I smiled in satisfaction.

"Well, what do you think, Kira?" Crimson asked with a smirking face.

"They do look good when they are with each other." Kira said, giggling. Sera didn't seem to be bothered by this and continued to enjoy my action.

"I will tell you something. I don't intend to find a mate." I snarled and stopped petting Sera who immediately nuzzled me again.

"So you will be alone forever? I doubt it." Crimson said, laughing.

"Dad, what's mate?" Sera asked and I blinked. She didn't know about mates, how strange.

"Why are you asking now?" the mother inquired.

"Well, Dad and you always tell sis about mate but you've never told me before." Sera answered. This was the best chance for me to distance away from the family so I didn't miss this chance.

"So how do you see Heat for example?" Crimson asked and Sera seemed to be thinking about it for a second. I was slowly sneaking out until Crimson stepped on my tails and pressed them tightly, stopping my escape. I tried to pull but it didn't work. In this kind of situation, I normally would attack those who tried to stop me but this time; I couldn't attack for some reason.

"Well, he seems to be nice even though he is a stranger. He looks cute, and if we stay each other for long time, we might become closest friends. Right, Heat?" Sera asked. I didn't know what to answer so I remained still, observing their further conservation.

"Then he is your mate." Crimson lied and my eyes widened in awful surprise. But something strange that I could not show my anger like I used to do. What was wrong with me?

"What!" I yelled, with my mouth wide opened. He was lying. What kind of parents would try to give their child false information?

"But remember, there can only be one mate in your life. Mate means someone who is very close to you and you can only have one. And it has to be someone with the opposite gender of yours." Crimson said. That was totally wrong. He didn't include the most important facts that mates were lovers and they were bond to be together forever. What kind of parent was he, giving her daughter to an unknown stranger like me? And I didn't want to have a mate.

"Sera, he is not right. Listen to me, mate is actually…." I was stopped by Kira's paw which was pressing my mouth, disabling my speech. When did Kira get near me? Right now, the situation was Crimson had stepped forcefully on my paw and Kira had disabled my speech.

"Mate surely sounds fun. But you said you don't intend to have one. Why?" she said, being puzzled. Don't believe them. And why did she become addicted to me? She really was an active, playful and outgoing vulpix.

"Maybe it must be because you don't know what it meant to have a close friend." She said. That sentence surely hit me. She was right for some part…. Friend… Did I have one? Neon offered me to become his friend but I refused and attacked him. And those rockets were never kind to me. Being raised in such an awful place, I didn't know what it was like to have someone that cared for me and I cared for in return. Legion was the one I revered as my master and Pain was the one I worked together. I truly didn't care for them at all. I even didn't know anyone that could be called "my friend".

"Heat, are you listening?" Sera said and I agitated. I was zoned out for so much that I didn't notice that the parents weren't doing anything to me now.

"Well, I will say it again. I will be you mate." She said happily with a smile. My eyes widened in fear.

"WHAT!" That was all I could scream. She became my mate due to a misleading info. I cursed the parents mentally.


	52. Symptom

**Floret's POV**

I was awake now but didn't want to open my eyes. It was still so comfortable to lie on such a soft and bouncy land again. It was like the one that Tom put me on in the other city. I started to think about the unusual activity happening within me. I seemed to be drooling often since morning. During in the battle, I was still drooling but I ignored that. The others might have not noticed because they were too focused on the battle. But as expected of Pain, she always tried to protect the weak one. I had to put that aside now since the drooling worried me more. What was wrong with me? This got to some kind of symptom for a disease but I didn't eat anything spoiled or I didn't do anything dirty. I hated being dirty...

I now slowly opened my eyes. My vision was blurring and a figure was looking at me. The blur faded slowly. I screamed slightly and jumped as it was the ugly and scary face of Lightning that was looking at me. I was right. I was in the same room and on the same kind of bed again. But this time, I was in the room with this jerk!

"Don't do like that again. We are chained here." He said and I scowled. I hated to be "chained" again with this idiot. But I noticed that this time, the chain was much shorter than before, which minimized my freedom now. I drooled again and wiped my drool with my paw.

"Is that drool?" Lightning asked with a slight concern in his tone and I nodded.

"Well, anyway, here look at this." Lightning said and he took a sheet of paper from behind him and showed me. It was not an ordinary paper but a paper with a drawing on it. It was a roughly sketch picture of me which somehow looked like me but not much.

"Tom drew this for you. Even though he hadn't learned much about drawing, he still did it for you." He said, smiling. I looked away, showing that I did not admire the picture. I was actually lying about it. I still wanted to get away as far as I could. The jolteon seemed to notice this and frowned. He suddenly held my shouldered tightly and forced me to face him.

"Why are you being so stubborn, umbreon?" he said harshly with a forceful tone and I blinked.

"Don't you know who brought you to this pokemon centre? It was Jeffery, Tom and me! Don't you get it? We cared for you and we are your family." He said and I scowled.

"Oh, forget it, jolteon." I snarled back and his expression changed to a misbelieving. He released my shoulders from his paw. I was drooling

"You really are stupid. I thought that I had a sister now but I was wrong." He said, turning away from me, once again my sentimental part was taking over me. I really shouldn't be doing this after all they cared for me. Why was I being soft again? Why? Maybe it was just my nature. I should have known that no matter how I forced myself to be, I would always end up being in normal nature.

"Well, but you are not getting away this time." Lightning turned back to me and said, causing my soft feelings for to fade away. I noted that I was drooling again so I had to wipe it out. I signed.

"I suppose I finally cannot escape with the like of you here." I said, smiling. I had to give up that escape plan now.

"Do you drool often?" he asked, staring at me with concern.

"Well, I don't usually drool. But today is a strange day. I am drooling more often." I said and he suddenly seemed frightened. He suddenly became sweated and stunned with eyes wide opened. I waved my paw in front of his eyes but he didn't react. I placed my paw on his right chest, testing his heart rate which was rapid now.

"Don't touch me!" he snapped, jerking back and I flinched. What was with this stupid theorist now? He seemed to be afraid of me but why?

"Okay.." I said, with a little soft tone. He turned away from me and I could see that his whole body was sweating.

Soon after, Jeffery brought us home and I brought the sketch along since I like it. I kept it with me but Lightning seemed to be in the same strange behavior. He was still sweating. Maybe he was getting sick.

"Are you okay?" I said, putting my paw on his forehead. He didn't have a fear which showed that he was just sweating from fear.

"I am alright. Please don't touch me, Floret." Lightning pleaded and I blinked.

"What was wrong with him? Was it something related to my drooling?"


	53. True Words

**Heat's POV**

This whole day was a mess. First of all, Legion and I were betrayed by Fear this morning and Fear killed Legion and knocked me unconscious. This evening, I was forced by my saviors to become their daughter's fiancé. And it was night now and Sera was still attracted to me but she always looked playful and mischievously which I disliked the most. And I couldn't bring myself to harm this innocent little female. I turned away from her since I really didn't like playing. But then she would try anything to get my attention, like nuzzling my neck again and nipping my ears playfully. I could nothing but signed in disappointment.

"Sera, won't you stop doing this?" I said only then she stopped nipping and looked at me.

"Why?" she asked me (in a cute way).

"I am not used to it." I said irritably. But she only nuzzled my neck again.

"Well, then you will just have to get used to it. If I do this more, you will soon be not able to live without me." She said and continued my action. Her parents were watching their daughter with a proud look. What were they so proud of, their daughter, being together with a male stranger and trying to get his attention to play with her? Geez, weirdos.

"She will never stop her actions unless you respond in a right way. That's how she is." Kira said to me and I scowled.

"I have already responded to her, haven't I?" I inquired with slight angry tone.

"That's not the right way." Crimson said, causing me to frown again. How should I react then? Shove her away? I really wanted to ask these questions in speech but I found them inappropriate for me to ask since they would probably get mad at me. I really wanted to tell Sera what mate really meant since she was too modest to believe her parents' words. She may be modest but she really was outgoing.

"I will make a bed for you two." Kira said, walking away.

"Only one bed?" I asked, almost in misbelieve.

"Well, we want to see how Sera behave, in sharing a bed. Sorry, but we are just teaching her how to subsist." Crimson laughed again. He curled up on an area with a large leaves bed, wide enough for both Kira and him. I noted that he was going to sleep while the mother was making a bed for m…. two of us. Sera was now looking at me with those playful eyes.

"I really don't like playing, Sera and I am serious." I said and she whined. But she gave me a hug instead of saying something to me which really surprised me. I felt somehow warm from her body. Why was she doing this?

"Daughter, you've finally done it. You are good." Kira congratulated from behind. Sera was still holding onto me and I was briefly pushing her out. Was she sure that she really didn't know what mate really meant….. Was she just pretending? These questions struck into my head and I really didn't know what I should do.

"Your body is warm and nice. I could feel it." She said, still not letting me go. From the end of my eyes, I noticed that she was smiling with satisfaction as if she was enjoying this hug thing.

"I can't find a reason why you don't want a friend. You have such a warm body also mean that you have a warm caring mind. But why don't you want a friend?" she said. She was totally wrong. I was not nice and caring. But friend… was the thing I was starving most I guessed since I couldn't resist the words she said. "..why don't you want a friend?" That sentence was echoing throughout my mind.

"…promise me that you will try to give up your vindictive mind.." Legion's words were echoing through me again and I really didn't know why. Was he saying that I should forgive Neon so that he could become my friend once again? No way! I really hated him and wanted to tear him apart.

"Are you spacing out again?" Sera poked me and I blinked. When did she release the hug? This really puzzled me. At least, her heinous parents were appeared to be asleep curling up around each other protectively. I wished I would never be a ninetales since I didn't like to see myself, with another three extra tails. I, as a vulpix, had five more tails than a normal pokemon already. And if I did evolve, it would really drive me nuts with the tails. I almost forgot that Sera was still awake. I had to tell her the truth even if it would sadden her.

"Well, Sera, do you know what mate really is?" I started.

"It is just like Dad said, isn't it?" she countered and I rolled my eyes.

"You really are naïve. Your father lied to you, Sera. I will tell you what mate really is." I said and she blinked in confusion. This time, I was serious and I was going to leave before her parents woke up or otherwise I would have parents-in-law.

"I agree that a mate is not just a friend. It is more than friends, even more than closest friend. Mate is someone you love and have determined to spend the rest of your life with." I said seriously.

"So you mean…"

"Yeah, for example, like your parents. They love each other, right? From that they gave birth to you and your sister. You don't really want to be like that with a stranger you met, do you?" I interrupted her sentence and she seemed to be stunned and lost in thought for a bit. I smirked as I knew that the answer would probably be negative. I turned away and prepared to leave.

"Please wait….." Sera said and I turned myself towards her.

"Yes?" I inquired indifferently, hoping to get the answer I had anticipated.

"Well, it's been nice, knowing you." She said. Say the answer. Say "no". My hope was getting higher and higher.

"And you were kind of nice to me..." My hope was getting higher and higher now. Say it, Sera! Say it!

"I kind of like you from the start. So if it is okay, can I mate with you?" she finished her sentence and I was left with my mouth wide-opened in very extreme disbelief. It was definitely the opposite with what I had predicted.

"You are kidding, right?" I said, raising an eye brow. She got to be being sarcastic. She just got to be.

"No, I am not kidding." She said and I felt as I was turned to stone, couldn't move. I was frozen due to both disbelief and shock.

"You have already told me that you don't intend to find a mate. But then I wonder…. Wouldn't you be lonely without someone to care for you." She said and that snapped me out of the shock I felt.

"Actually, I don't know. But right now, I'd like to be alone." I replied indifferently, walking away.

"Heat, I am not talking about the present. I am talking about the future." She said, causing me to turn towards her in interest.

"Well, you see. Everything isn't meant to be alone, even non-living things. You see, wherever a tree grows, there is a lawn underneath it or some soil. But they stay together right. But then again when these trees all together exist together, they become a forest which becomes our habitats. We are in a big cycle of life. We have to depend on each other. If one depends only on himself, he will not last longer. But by being together, we can live together and support each other. We can finally grow our love each other. Even though if you don't think much of me now, I am sure one day you will fall for me. Everyone can't escape love, you know." She said and my eyes narrowed. She was somehow right. Would I be happy if I was alone? Would I be satisfied?

"Sis would stop me if she was here because she can't accept love at first sight. And she is very shy, unlike me who expresses feelings easily. I know myself exactly that I like you very much." She said.

"I don't know anything, Sera. I have nothing to do right now. So I think that I will just wander." I said sincerely and she quickly ran towards me and pinned me to the ground. I admitted that she really was good at that stuff.

"Please, stay with me for a few days, will you? I am just lonely here and your departure will accept Mum and Dad and I don't want that. Can you please do it for me?" she said, smiling warmly. Why did my body go numb?

"Okay, just for a few days." I said dismissively. Why couldn't I refuse her that time? Why?

"This is a present for you." She said, releasing me. And then to my surprise, she gave me a lick in the cheek which I flinched in return.

"Let's sleep, Heat." She said and I nodded. I went to the bed and curled up. She lied down and cuddled against me but somehow it didn't even bother me. All I could do was curl around her protectively. Even I was confused of my actions but it didn't really mattered now.


	54. To Lightning's Fear

**This is the part where Lightning's nightmare began. Please read and review.**

**Lightning's POV**

I couldn't sleep all night. My eyes were red due to my devoid of sleep but I ignored it because of my worries. It couldn't be true that she wasn't drooling all the time the previous day. I didn't see her, drooling during the battle. What if I didn't notice since I was too focused on battle… no, that couldn't be true. I just couldn't be worrying now. Besides, she may not be over two years old….. But what if she was? Cut it out, Lightning. Stop worrying... Now Jeffery had even chained us up during night before of Floret's attempt to escape. I shouldn't be thinking about that now. We were so close just because of the chain. The sun was slowly rising. It was dawn. Did I really remain awake that long? Maybe it must have been because I was so worrying that I didn't notice. I started to walk but I stopped as I heard the chain's ringing sound which showed that it had reached its limited length. I had to get away as far as I could from Floret or otherwise my life would be doomed.

I flinched as Floret slowly opened her eyes. I observed her for a moment to know whether I was in danger or not. She slowly got up, not showing her face yet. I was starting to sweat again but I ignored it. Her condition was more important than mine since it would effect on my life. One of her ears twitched and I flinched more. Her nose sniffed something.

"I think I smelled a male." She said and slowly showing her face. Her eyes were not normal and she had a wide grin, showing all of her teeth which in turn made her look scary.

"I found a male." She said excited as she laughed. This was definitely THE FEVER!! She was definitely in that period. She ran towards me and pinned me to the ground with her paws on my stomach where there were no quills.

"You really look cute." She said, smiling in satisfaction, causing me to swallow a gulp and whimpered. This was not good and it was impossible for me to elude this for two months. She would get close to every male she saw. Every male…. An idea struck into my head. If I led her to male, she would only chase that male. I shivered as she licked in my face. Yuck…. This was catastrophic. If it was Lilly, I could bear it but her licking me, disgusting! If I knew this would happen, I should've never brought her back!

"Come on, let's mate." She said, slowly reaching her lips towards mine. I kicked her into the stomach and stood up quickly. I stayed myself in the corner, not showing any openings for her to flirt with me. But she got under my arm with force and nuzzled my face with her head. I shoved her away but she only came back. I should start my plan now. So I slowly walked towards the door and pushed it open. As expected, Floret followed me. Jeffery depended on me so much for security that he never locked his door, except when both of us were out.

I started to scan around the area and found that no one was awake yet. I signed, not knowing what to do with this female, trying to get my attention now by nipping my ears and looking at me playfully with those abnormal eyes. Suddenly a scary face appeared in front of me and I fell on my back due to sudden fear. Then I realized that it was Skull so I didn't comment. I quickly stood up on my feet, not wanting to be pinned down and licked. But still she kept on showing affections towards me.

"Yo ho ho ho… sorry, Lightning. I come today to tell you one thing." He said. He glanced at me and noted the affectionate umbreon. He quickly flew backwards.

"Skull, why did move away from me?" I inquired even though I knew the answer.

"Well, if I got near her, it could've been dangerous and I want to keep single life." He said and laughed creepily again with that "yo ho ho ho". Why did he laugh like that?

"I come to inform you the recent news. The two pokemons, known as the powerful ones, have been vanished." He said and I blinked. They really did die, no way. Judging from what he told me before, they seemed to be really strong.

"How?" I asked.

"Yo ho ho ho… I will tell you, my friend but it ain't gonna be pretty." He said and I paid attention to him. I shivered as Floret licked my cheek. But I ignored it since I knew that I had no time for that.

"Well, only five, including me, know about this. I was happened to be in the neighborhood that time and heard some unusual fighting indeed. So I camouflaged myself and went to the battlefield and saw those two, fighting each other. Oracle and Legion were both powerful indeed. At last, Legion managed to defeat Oracle and kill her." He said. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. When I first heard their names, I was inspired by them but I'd never known that they were enemies.

"However, I traced Legion and another vulpix by my sense and found out where they were headed in their teleportation. I flew there quickly but when I arrived, I could see the poor vulpix, being tormented, near the dead body of Legion, by a sableye. I decided not to watch anymore since it was getting uglier and uglier." He said. So a sableye killed Legion. Legion must have been exhausted at that time since I knew that he was pretty powerful enough. I received another lick in my face and I shoved Floret away.

"Anyway, do you know a remedy for this?" I asked impatiently.

"Yo ho ho ho.. There is no remedy, my friend. But I will tell you something. Show her affection. As long as you don't get kissed, you are okay. Bye now." He said, fading away. So I had to show this night-hunter affections? Impossible!!

"Oh, handsome, can you lay me a kiss on my lips?" Floret said, blinking her eyes affectionately.

"NO!" I snapped and growled. I stomped back into the house and she followed again. I noted that Jeffery and Tom were awake. They gave me our breakfast. I started to fill my hungry stomach and I noted that Floret was doing the same. At least, she still did her normal habitual thing. As soon as she finished her breakfast, she started to flirt with me again!

"Do you believe what am I seeing?" Jeffery said and Tom nodded.

"That's one good girl. They finally get along." He said. No, we weren't. I will have to get rid of her somehow.


	55. Sacred Life

"This is your lucky day since I am in a good mood." Jeffery said and I blinked. That night hunter was still freaking me out by showing me too much affection that I couldn't stand it at all. Jeffery slowly kneed down and removed the chain from both of us. I smirked as I knew that I had more chance in avoiding Floret now. As soon as the chain was removed, I started to run towards the door and slammed the door, opened.

"Lightning, what are you doing?" Jeffery yelled from behind me but I ignored him and continued running since I knew that Floret was going to follow. I looked back and found that she was running after me just as I expected. I ran and ran. I had to find a single male pretty soon or otherwise she would not give up on me.

"Where are you going, handsome?" she said but I ignored and continued running. Suddenly the banette we surmounted before appeared in front of me.

"I knew that I would find you here and I will defeat you two this time." He snarled and took a battle pose. This was no time for that now. I was in an emergency situation. Wait… Maybe he was single which meant that I could use him as my cover. He fired a shadow ball at me and I slid and dodged it. I managed to get behind him. I held him tight in my paws, sealing his movements.

"What're you doing, jolteon?" he demanded but I ignored.

"Here's a male and he is totally cute." I wanted to vomit at that time and I had to lie just to avoid Floret's affectionate acts. Floret was getting closer and closer to us now.

"A cute male!" she said as she charged herself towards. The banette's eyes widened as Floret pinned him to the ground and gave him several licks. So he was not single after all. Now I was relieved that Floret had her attention on him.

"Damn it, I have to retreat." The banette suddenly said and vanished. I flinched as I knew that I had to run again now. I dashed out at full speed without looking back.

"Please wait…" Floret said from behind me which assured me that she was still following. Geez… someone help me or my life will be cursed to stay with this mad eyed lady forever. I was about to run of the city now. The place ahead was Lilly and the others' clearing... I had no choice but to seek them for help.

After a few minutes of running, I could see an alakazam, sitting with the others in circle.

"HELP ME PLEASE!" I screamed and got attention from Neon who titled his head at me confusingly. I ran faster and hid behind him.

"This is not the good time. We are having a serious discussion here." Neon said but I ignored him. I noted that Flare was engulfed in blue aura and held psychically. She was about to lick the alakazam also. That alakazam surely seemed strong, using psychic on a dark type. And he must be a male since Floret got attracted to him.

"Females in fever are pretty hard to control." He said and I signed in relief. I could rely on him on holding Floret back now.

"Floret is in fever?" Neon asked and I nodded. Floret seemed to be struggling to be free from the psychic hold

"Her eyes look different from before." Flare seemed to notice. Suddenly Floret was suddenly thrown psychically at me, causing me to fall along with her.

"I really don't like to force a person to do something he or she don't want to do." The alakazam said and I cursed him severally. Floret began to lick me again and I couldn't just stand it.

"Please help me!" I shouted.

"Neon, I don't lose my dignity like that." Flare said to Neon with teary eyes.

"Well, you will never lose your dignity since you will never suffer from that fever. And even if you do, I will be here so you can be cure quickly." He said, putting his arm around Flare protectively and gave her a lick in cheek. OH DAMN IT! This two lovebirds aren't helping me after all. I had to find another way. I kicked her in the stomach and made it for Gust who could help me since she was his sister. I hid myself behind Gust. Floret followed me but this time, she sniffed Gust first. She then whimpered and her ears were drooped down.

"You have already kissed." She said. Wow, she could tell that just by sniffing. But she didn't recognize Gust though. She then suddenly noticed me and approached me but stopped by Gust. He had warped his vines around Floret, stopping her from taking a step forwards.

"Like I would give my little sister to a jerk like you." He snarled and I whined. He never was nice to me even though his mate and I was just friend. I wanted to cry since it hurt my feelings. Through my pure tears, I noted that Lilly was whispering something into Gust's ears. He suddenly grinned heinously which made me flinched. My tears had dried now. He suddenly released Floret who started to show me affection again.

"Well, Lilly told me that if you two become mates, we don't have to be doubtful on each other anymore." He said. Those two didn't even help their friend but only vex him with more troubles. My heart could not take it.

"I am sorry but we are very busy now. Why don't you go home instead, Lightning? Jeffery might be worried about you." Lilly said kindly and I suddenly remembered. I left even though Jeffery told me not to. What would he think of me now?

"Lilly is right. You should go home, Lightning." Neon said to me, smiling and I nodded. Influenced by these soft sentiments, I marched towards home along with Floret. So nobody loved me at all.. was there someone who would care for me? All my friends had abandoned me and only Jeffery was the true friend. Even Skull

Only by the time I arrived home, I realized the things I had done. I had to go back.. Being influenced by these feelings was not good at all. Floret was now nuzzling against me again. I prepared to leave again but stopped as Jeffery suddenly grabbed my neck.

"Just where are you going, Lightning?" he said, giving me a serious look and I whimpered. He, too, was not helpful at all. Now he had chained us up again. I could only hope that she would not kiss me.

I managed to avoid the kiss and now I had finished my dinner. Floret had already done so a few minutes ago so there was no surprising that she was trying to nuzzle me. I signed in disappointment as I let her did what she wanted. As long as, we didn't kiss, it would be oka……. She just pinned me down on the ground. This time she was looking heinous and I was getting afraid. What was she doing?

"What're you do…" Before I could finish my sentence, she pressed her lips against the open ones of mine, forming a kiss. WHAT!! I tried to push her off but she was holding my lips with hers tightly. I could feel her tongue on mine! YUCK!

"Hey, Uncle Jeffery, come and look!" Tom seemed to note us and Jeffery quickly hurried to us. This was not what he thought this was.

"They are kissing…." Jeffery said in disbelief. Tom immediately picked up a book and started to read.

"It said here that when the pokemons kissed, the sperms from the male travelled through the saliva into the ovary of the female which in terms, mating!" He read out loud. NO… My life was sacred!!

"Wow, let's celebrate for them, Tom!" Jeffery said excitedly. This was no time for CELEBRATING!!


	56. Still Arguing

**Floret's POV**

I woke up the next morning. I didn't know who I kissed but I felt extremely lightheaded. Luckily, there was a male around during my insanity so that it would end so quickly. I wondered who the lucky guy was. He must have been totally handsome that he could attract me even. I noticed that I was still chained to that jerk whom I sensed a negative aura around him. He seemed to be depressed by the look but this time, he was more depressed than ever. Maybe I should go and cheer him up. I poked him, but didn't receive a reply. I scowled and poked him again.

"Lightning, what's wrong with you?" I said impatiently and he only gave me a depressed look and turned away. I stood in front of him and stared him at the face.

"Tell me, Lightning. I won't bite you." I said, soothingly.

"My life is doomed…" he said in a depressed tone. There was no use then. Maybe, if I asked him about who I kissed, he would be more cheerful in answering. Of course, he got to know since he would probably be the one who would drag me home.

"So do you know anyone who kissed me?" I asked cheerfully, feeling so excited. He then cried out loud which made me feel anxious. I really wanted to know and he suddenly cried. His sudden emotional damage was surely a pain in the neck.

"Can you please tell?" I asked, trying to be patient without success.

"I was the one…." He cried.

"So you are the lucky guy." I said cheerfully. What did he say? Was he just said that he kissed me?

"So you are the lucky guy?" This time, my tone was a little harsher with disbelief and he nodded. WHAT!! Was he serious?

"I don't believe you." I said with strong disbelief and harshness.

"Hey, both of you, I got something for you two." Tom suddenly banged in and said. He then took something out of his backpack.

"Ta da.." he said, showing us a pic. I took a look at it and found that it was the pic of me, kissing Lightning! It was even decorated in a nice frame! So he was right after all. I suddenly felt so hopeless since my life had been cursed and sacred. My precious life… was now all gone. I was as good as dead.

"Hey, what wrong with you two? I sensed some depression here." Jeffery said but I ignored him. Of course, I was depressed to have my female life, sacred by this stupid jolteon that I hated most. Now we had become mates and I totally didn't want that. Why did it come this? I came here; searching for Gust but instead became mate of this freak.

"Anyway, Sliph Co has discovered a new technology and they are going to display here on the supermarket of Celadon City. They are going on sales for their newest and neatest discovery." Tom said.

"Then what are we waiting for. Let's go." Jeffery replied.

After a while, we were on the way to the supermarket, still chained to Lightning who was moaning. We went into the market and Jeffery and Tom took us up to some room, by using the same strange vertically moving things. I still was upset at the kiss I had. If I was in control, this wouldn't have happened.

"Well, here we are the exhibition floor." Jeffery said and I only lifted my head a little to observe. There were so many people at there and a person was on top, showing something to them. It looked like something that could be worn on the wrist. But I was still depressed.

"You, two, wait here." Jeffery and Tom disappeared into the crowd, leaving me alone with Lightning. We had our ears drooped down. I still couldn't get over it. If he was to be my mate, then how would I be happy for the rest of my life? But it was kind of interesting since we always fought over something. But still.. I didn't like him at all.

"Why did I kiss a guy like you?" I moaned, revealing my thoughts.

"You want to know why? Because you were so onto me because you were in fe…. And that's why." Lightning said and I blinked. What was he trying to say? And I think he should watch his mouth!

"What do you mean by I was onto you?" I snarled and he scowled.

"You were the one who was chasing me around." He said and I blinked.

"And you were saying… "where are you going, handsome?" he imitated my voice with a mockery and I was flared up. I was getting irate by him, ridiculing me.

"Look here, mister! I don't know what happened but don't you dare insult me like that!" I yelled.

"Well, it is you who destroyed my pure male life first!" he yelled back!

"What about me? My female life is sacred due to your foolishness." I yelled. He stomped at me and I stammered. He faced me and I scowled.

"Watch your mouth, missie. I am the one who had my life doomed due to your forceful act!" he said, pushing his forehead against mine.

"Well, I only know that you are not good enough to be my mate!" I countered, pushing his forehead with mine.

"What did you say?" he replied. So he wanted to hear that again, very well then.

"I said that you are not good enough to be my mate!" I yelled.

"Geez, why did a night hunter like you become my mate?" he said angrily.

"So what! YOU ARE A HEDGEHOG BY THE WAY!" I shouted. I heard Jeffery cleared his throat and turned towards him. I saw that Lightning did the same, too. Tome was looking pretty uneasy.

"We understand all of your words."


	57. More Horror

What did they mean by they understand us? Humans can't understand Pokemon's language. Lightning and I exchanged our looks, being confused by that.

"Maybe he could tell from our actions." I said to Lightning who nodded.

"Well, we could hear what you two have just said to each other." Tom said and I blinked, pretty surprised by his comment.

"Looks like, we bought the right kind of device or otherwise we might not have known that you, two, hated each other that much." Jeffery said. What device was he talking about? Both of them weren't holding anything.

"I see,…" Lightning said, looking at his wrist. I noticed that he was wearing the same thing that I saw before. I checked my wrist and found that I was wearing the same thing, too. What were these things? I tested it with my fangs and found that it was made of some kind of hard metal. It beeped when touched and I flinched.

"These are the translating devices that could translate pokemon's words to humans. You, two, were fighting each other that you didn't notice us, putting the devices on you." Jeffery said, looking impatiently. I didn't exactly know what happened but my instincts were telling me that I was in trouble.

Yeah, of course, I was in trouble. Jeffery kept scolding us on the way and I didn't really enjoy it.

"You, two, have even mated, haven't you?" Jeffery berated and I scowled.

"We haven't mated yet." I protested but he only gave me an angry glare, making me whimper in fear. I became suddenly afraid that time since Jeffery could do anything to me and I really didn't like that. Lightning smirked but I couldn't argue.

"Lightning, I am going to teach you a lesson, too." Jeffery said and Lightning then whimpered. Good riddance! I had immediately cheered up on the inside unlike that stupid jolteon.

"..how nice, being betrayed by your own best friend." I whispered quietly into Jolteon. This time I was alarmed since Jeffery and Tom could understand us pretty well. Lightning was still whining. Geez… he always took others' comment seriously and got hurt emotionally. I didn't really like that. Maybe if I could shape him up a bit, maybe he could be my ty… hm, maybe he could never be. And I wasn't onto jolteons anyway since I wouldn't possibly be able to cuddle with them.

"And you, two will not be separating from each other until you, two make it up…" Jeffery said and I scowled. When we arrived at home, he even shortened the length of the chain and now we were only a few inches away from each other. My freedom had all gone.

"You really should love each other, umbreon." Tom said, and I raised my eyebrow lazily.

"Don't call me umbreon all the time. My name's Floret." I said flatly and the human eyes blinked.

"Oh… I see. So Floret is it? Nice name." Tom said, smiling at me while I groaned. Lightning was lying lazily like me but I didn't care a thing about him.

"Geez, Lightning, I thought you were friendly towards others." Jeffery said, to the gloomy jolteon who gave him a sad look.

"Well, this is your chance to show her your affection. And then I will let you two free and I will treat you better than before." Jeffery continued and Lightning suddenly perked up.

"Really? Are you sure?" Lightning said. His mood had suddenly changed and I didn't really like it.

"Very sure, friend." Jeffery said.

"Oh, come on. I won't like Lightning no matter how he show his affection towards me." I said in a bored tone. Seriously, what were those two thinking?

"Okay, if you insist so. I will try the best way." Lightning said with a tear of joy, sparklingly fell from his eyes. Geez… immature. How childish he was. He gestured Jeffery to kneel down so that he could whisper into his ears.

"Okay," Jeffery said, picking a flower from a container and gave it to Lightning who grabbed it with his mouth. He then gave me a flirty look which I raised an eyebrow.

"This flower represents you, milady." He said, taking the flower with his paw and handed it to me.

"I really don't want our love to be superficial. So please accept this flower." He said and winked at me. I raised my eyebrow awkwardly. Disgusting! I thought that I was going to throw up! Geez…. He really was not charming at all!! Oh, Mew, why did I end up with this guy? I screamed out loud since the horror was just starting. I was lost in negativity again, being depressed. I could hear Jeffery and Tom's burst out laughter.

"That was one jocular act, Lightning." Tom laughed. I agreed with me. Lightning looked more disgusting rather than attractive and charming.

"Well, you should improve your charm, Lightning." Jeffery laughed and Lightning suddenly became depressed.

"Everyone think I am ugly and disgusting…." Lightning moaned.

"From my point of view, I think you two should go on a date" Jeffery suggested and I blinked.

"A date?" I said, not knowing what he meant.

"Can you tell me what do you mean by "going on a date"?" I asked. Jeffery and Tom laughed once more as I finished my sentence. What was this date? I really was curious now. What was going to happen to me? A lot of things had happened and now they were happening again. Please someone help me!!


	58. The Indecisive Mind

**Heat's POV**

Sera seemed to like me very much even though I didn't show her any affection. She kept on acting playful but I never reacted to her action anyway. She really seemed to want to play with me but I was not good at doing this kid stuff.

"You haven't played with me even once." Sera said and I blinked. Why should I play with her? I really didn't want to play.

"Go and find someone else, Sera." I said impatiently. But she didn't complain, instead she sat down right beside me and rested her face on mine, trying to make an eye contact. All I could see was a big eye, kind of scary. But she seemed to be enjoying the look since she didn't move an inch.

"How do you feel?" she asked.

"Nothing…." I replied coldly.

"You are not that heartless, are you?" Crimson said. I didn't know that he was nearby and since he was here, Kira must be with him as well. Geez… this family surely was very idiosyncratic since they didn't regret, taking a stranger like me in. But they surely were nice.

"I really want you to reply something nice, Heat. Sera is doing all she can to make you feel relax." Kira said. I turned away from Sera and faced her.

"Well, it is my choice, isn't it?" I asked dismissively. I agitated as I felt Sera, licking my cheek. That lick seemed extremely different from the one that Legion performed on the psychic pokemon. How will I make her dislike me so that she would stay far away from me?

"Do you like me that much?" I asked bluntly and the female vulpix blinked. She seemed to be confused at my comment.

"Well, I love you very much you know" she said and my ears twitched as I heard the unbelievable word. Did she just say "love" instead of "like"? I didn't really know the feeling of love since I actually wasn't loved by someone before and I didn't love someone. All I was doing was obeying orders.

"Please pet her, Heat." Crimson said again and I scowled. I didn't really like her. She was nuzzling her head against mine again and again. I just didn't want to hurt her feelings. So I finally ran my paw down her back which she seemed to enjoy. I noted that Crimson's face suddenly turned into a serious look.

"Someone's coming." He said and I blinked. How could he know that someone was coming? Was it his sense? Maybe he was just making things up. An alakazam suddenly appeared in front of us, making me jump slightly. So he really knew that someone was coming but how.

"Your sense is great as always, Crimson. You can even sense the air to know who was teleporting and to where." The Alazakam said. I immediately recognized as the one from Oracle's side along with the Neon. Who was that guy?

"Well, not as good as your aura sensing skill which is more definite." Crimson said, smirking. Did they know each other? Since Oracle was popular among here, that alazakam must have been popular here as well.

"Anyway, I've decided to give a speech to all the pokemons in this forest. I have chosen the location. There is a large tree trunk in the middle of the forest. So be sure to come there…." He said. Crimson nodded and I blinked. What were they talking about? I titled my head confusedly at both of them. The alakazam seemed to notice me since he smiled.

"I know you, vulpix." He said and I flinched. He recognized me…. How?

"Can you leave us along, Crimson? I have something to say to this young one." He said.

"Sure thing, Prophet." Crimson said and motioned to Kira, gesturing her to leave.

"Sera, come here!" Crimson said but Sera clung to me and stayed still as if she didn't want to leave by my side. I decided to ask Crimson to let her stay for some reason even I was not sure.

"Well, can you please let her stay? I asked. Crimson was about to protest but Prophet gave him a look which seemed to signal him that it was okay for Sera to be here. Crimson and Kira left and Prophet, Sera and I were left alone.

"Vulpix, answer me sincerely…. How did you know Legion?" Prophet asked. Sera was still clinging me but I really didn't mind that.

"Well, I joined their team and so what?" I answered irritably. I really didn't like him since he seemed to be so wise-looking or something and I really despised that look. What was with those spoons he was holding? He must be lunatic.

"Can you tell me what happened afterwards?" he said and I scowled. I really didn't want to remember about that. Betrayed by comrades was the most humiliating thing. And I was very scared. And now I was stuck with this stupid family for some time I didn't know.

"Well, don't get cocky and nosy at others' event." I replied irritably but Prophet remained emotionlessly. He only smirked and stared at me which somehow frightened me.

"Very well, but I am going to keep an eye on you, nameless vulpix.." he said and then vanished without a trace which made me flinched. Did he just call me nameless?

"I am not nameless, you idiot!" I shouted even though I knew that he wasn't going to hear that.

"Heat, can you control your temper?" Sera said, trembling. My scowl somehow suddenly disappeared as if I didn't want to make her sad or something like that.

"Don't worry, Sera. I was just a little annoyed." I said. I didn't really know how to react her actions since she immediately perked up and nuzzled me again.

"You really are nice, Heat." She said and I blinked. I wasn't really nice at all and yet she still thought of me as nice… How strange.. She then suddenly shoved me down, making me lose my balance and fell. What a stranger behavior she got there. Was she just mischievous or was she just being trouble? She suddenly lied down beside me and put her shoulders around me, hugging me and her legs were weighed on mine. Her forehead was meeting mine and the tips of our noses were touched. My face turned red due to her strange actions.

"Just as I thought, this gives me warmth, Heat. You could give me warmth and happiness." She said, slowly licking my forehead which I remained stunned, not knowing what to do.

"I really love you…" she said faintly. I really couldn't do anything but smiled. I didn't know how to react. Normally I would attack the one who was hugging me but in this case, I really couldn't do it. At least, I decided to return the hug to her, so that she could be happy…. Why was I doing this?


	59. Floret's Vision of Nature

**Floret's POV**

Something, extremely fishy was going on here. This night was a very strange one to me. I didn't know about this date stuff but I hope this one gonna be a good one. Lightning seemed to be anxious about it too. He probably must have felt the same way as I did. This stupid chain surely limited my freedom of movement.

"You two look nervous" Jeffery said and I chuckled. I agreed with him… yeah, at least I was nervous since I really didn't know what was going to happen to me. Lightning… what a loser. No matters how I looked I would never find anything attractive about him. Oh… mew, how could you do this to a delicate lady like me?

"You look nice now." Tom said and I blinked. I snapped out of my thoughts. He then put the mirror in front of me and I stared. I was looking cute and beautiful with a red ribbon around my ear. I owned him many things now. Even though I always wanted to run away at the first time, now I knew that I was wrong. Lightning was right after all. I owned Tom many things, this beauty, the food he gave me, the flower container that I broke and of course, lately my life at the harbor city. I was gaunt and starving but he saved me. I smiled, pleased at my new look. Lightning was wearing nothing new. This chain, I really wanted to break it up with my teeth if I could but I couldn't break it since the chain itself was too hard.

"You two look ready, I guess." Jeffery said and I stammered, showing that I was not interested in this "very good dating stuff" which I actually didn't know what it was.

"Now Lightning, can you take her to the park?" Jeffery said. Park? What park? I didn't know a thing.

"You are not coming?" Lightning asked in surprise. Jeffery and Tom shook their heads.

"Dating only includes of a couple not quadruple." Tom said and winked at us which made me raise an eyebrow. Something fishy was going on around here.

"Okay, fine. Come one, Floret." Lightning said and gestured me to follow and I obeyed. I still was suspicious about this whole thing. We went out of the house and walked along with Lightning as my guide.

"Where is the park? I think I haven't seen one around here." I said, feeling kind of insecure.

"Erika, the gym leader of this city's gym built a park inside her gym and opened for both battling and relaxation." He explained. What did this have to do with me? And a park inside a building, geez, really weird…. I was starting to know these human stuffs due to Tom and Jeffery's conversations.

"What do I actually do in the dating?" I asked, hoping that he might know.

"Well, I don't know. But Jeffery said a dating must only consists of a couple." He said and I signed in disappointment. Compared to humans, we really were stupid and naïve. But we still do have the same kind of feelings and heart and I was pretty satisfied with that. Lightning smiled at me in an idiotic way and I signed in disappointment. This guy was now my mate and he was an idiotic fool.

"Look what a beautiful couple. And look at how the umbreon's blue rings, glowing at night." I heard a boy said. He was clinging to a woman who I assumed to be his mum. They were just passing by. I didn't say a thing since they would probably understand me and I didn't want to scare them.

"Hey, you look like Jeffery's old pal." The woman said. Wow, Jeffery surely had a lot of friends here.

"Yes, I am." Lightning said. Stupid guy… he would just scare the people.

"Look, mummy. He has the translator." The boy said cheerfully to his mum who just smiled. That device surely got popular within a day.

"Mummy, I want a pokemon." The boy pleaded. The mother only just smiled. I signed. As a pokemon, I used to believe that we wanted to be free without any control. I pitied a trainer's pokemons, not having any freedoms. But then again, meeting Lightning completely changed my thoughts. He didn't want to have freedom. He was just happy to be Jeffery's pokemon and he loved him too. Maybe trainers and pokemons had their bonds also.

"Well, you will get one…" The mother said, smiling. "…that is if you behave and treat your pokemon nicely."

"Thank you, mummy." The boy said and they both walked away.

"Is this new to you?"Lightning asked and I blinked.

"You looked very surprised and awe." He continued.

"Did I really look like that?" I questioned and he nodded. He really was something and I really couldn't lie this time. He put his paw on my shoulder and my face turned red. What was this sudden reaction?

"Hey, back off, hedgehog!" I snarled and bit his paw which he yelped in pain. I was only asking him a question and he didn't have to do like that.

"You bit me…." He said, whimpering and looked depressed. "I was just comforting you in case you were sad but you bit me…"

He really could be very sentimental and emotional which really annoyed me. I should have known that my teeth were strong.

"Give me your paw." I sat beside him and said. He seemed to be confused but yet he did as I commanded. I licked the blood out of the wound. The blood tasted so sweet to me. Maybe it did because I was an umbreon. I had to do it since I was responsible for it. I didn't know why but I could see a faint blush on Lightning.

"Something wrong?" I asked and he shook his head. I continued the licking the wound until it stopped bleeding.

"Now, shall we?" I said and he nodded. And together we continued to walk to our destination.


	60. Lovely Complex

I really didn't know what Lightning was thinking. I wished I would have learned psychic when Winter encouraged me to do so. He even found an espeon who would be willing to teach me psychic. I was just a bonehead, arguing that psychic wasn't suitable for dark pokemons but if I had tried, I would have learned. I really regretted it.

"Your ribbon is loose." Lightning said I blinked. Yeah, he was right. It was falling off.

"Hold still.." he said, gently tying the ribbon with his paws. That was amazing. He could sit on two legs and tied it with paws. How could he do that? Maybe he had learned a few tricks from humans.

"There.." he said. I could hear the chain's clanging sound as he moved but I ignored that. I was just amazed by him tying my ribbon. No pokemon could possible just do that with their paws.

"What?" he asked and I shook my head. Maybe I was staring at him too much.

"Never mind," I said nervously and gestured him to lead the way which I followed. Why was I amazed by this ugly hideous hedgehog? I could never know. Things are always different even my mind was differing from before. I remembered how I hated this jolteon but now he seemed very nice to me. If I could only know him better, it would be good for both of us, or so I thought.

"So what are your sentiments about me?" he suddenly asked and I blinked. What do I think about him? Umm… I could not find anything good about him.

"Let's see… first of all, you are not good-looking…" I said and he whimpered.

"…but you are cute though. Since you are so much sentimental and emotional, I kind of think you possess a mind of a female." I shouldn't have said this. Now he seemed to be shocked and stunned with wide mouth open. When I touched him, he just froze and fell down.

"I am fully male.." he cried, turning his back on me. Normally he would just move away farther but he couldn't since he was bonded to me by the chain.

"Let's just go, okay?" I said. I just had to drag him along. But then again where was the park he was talking about. He said it was inside a gym so it had to be inside a building. In my sight, I could see a large building with, wall made of transparent glass. Maybe I should drag him to there. He surely was heavy and if it wasn't for the chain, he wouldn't be this easy to drag. Emotional pain of his caused me physical pain.

After a while,

"Finally…." I panted, releasing the grip. I was panting out of exhaustion.

"Thank you for giving me a great ride." Lightning said and I blinked.

"I was just pretending to be hurt so that you would pull me off." He continued which really pissed me off. I gave him a hard smack on the head since I was really blasted. That idiot just fooled me. He whimpered, rubbing his head.

"You don't have to go that far." He protested.

"Of course, I have to!" I argued back. Who did he think he was?

"Anyway, let's just go in. I am sure that you will love the place." Lightning said and gave me a smile, trying to be cute. Maybe he must be imagining that he was sparkling. I rolled my eyes.

"Stop being disgusting." I said and he became depressed again as usual. He kept moaning and moaning and I couldn't stand it. My eyebrow was twitching and my paw was itching to teach him a lesson. But I went against that will. Instead I smiled and said, "I was just kidding. You look cool. So cheer up"

He suddenly recovered from that depression by using some sort of ability.

"Really?" he said.

"Really…" I said with less will in my tone. Why did I ever end up with this guy?

"Thank you very much." He started to nuzzle me. My face was turning red. Although the quills touched me, I didn't feel any pain at all. But how come, he was doing this sudden behavior.

"Hey, what's the big idea?" I said, with him kept on nuzzling. I could push him away but I didn't want to do it. It was kind of nice to have him around.

"This is just my thanks." He said and I smiled.

"Now I want to show you the beautiful place. So shall we?" he said.

"Okay…" and then we went in. It really was a park inside there with a big lake. There were many pokemons inside there and many people too, mostly couples. But still it is beautiful. I really wanted to know the main reason of me being here. I will find out.


End file.
